PITTSBURGH — On a night when Davante Adams, the Jets’ newest toy, figured to be a huge focus as the All-Pro receiver made his debut with the team, it was Garrett Wilson who stole the show.
For all the wrong reasons.
Wilson had the worst game of his NFL career in the Jets’ 37-15 loss to the Steelers Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium in which he had an Aaron Rodgers pass bounce off his chest and into the arms of Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. for a crushing interception.
Afterward, Wilson left little doubt about how sick to his stomach he was.
“That was the reason we lost the game at the end of the day,” Wilson said. “That s–t can’t happen. Can’t happen. Terrible plays. I’ve gotta catch a damn ball. I’m playing like s–t right now and I’ve gotta fix it.”
With the Jets trailing, 16-15, in the third quarter, Wilson was open down the left sideline and the Rodgers pass hit him right on the No. 5 on his jersey and the ball bounced right into the arms of Bishop, who returned it 41 yards to the Jets’ 1-yard line.
Making matters more damaging, on the return, Jets right guard Xavier Newman suffered a scary neck injury after being blocked to the ground and was carted off the field strapped to a stretcher.
Thankfully, he was later cleared by doctors to return to New Jersey with the team.
But Wilson was fuming at himself for the game-changing play, which led to a 1-yard Russell Wilson touchdown run and a 23-15 Steelers lead.
“It’s like a culmination of me getting bad habits, not attacking the ball in the game,” Wilson said. “I’ve gotta fix it, use my hands and catch the ball. I’ve gotta go do what I do, what I know I can do. I’m not pressing. It’s just not trusting what the hell I’ve been doing since I was a kid.
“The way I see it, we were going to win the game if I don’t drop that ball. If I can do what I was brought here to, do what people expect me to do, do what I expect myself to do, I feel like we win this game. I let the guys down today. I let the team down.”
Wilson finished with five catches for 61 yards on nine targets.
Adams, who was acquired on Tuesday, caught three passes for 30 yards on nine targets and appeared not on the same page with Rodgers on some occasions.
Rodgers threw an out pass to him on the first offensive play of the game and the result was awkward, either the pass was too far wide of him or he wasn’t in the right spot.
“I wouldn’t say rust,” Adams said. “Obviously, we can continue to get on a better page. The first play the game was just football. It doesn’t always work. We had a really good week of practice, and will continue to go and have a good week practice this next upcoming week and see what we can do to turn it around.”
