Zach Wilson vs Chiefs: A Breakdown

As critical of Zach as I've been lately, I have to give him some major props for his performance last night. Was he perfect? No, but what we saw last night was arguably the best game of Zach's career. He had the offense rolling at the end of the first half and even though it didn't end favorably for us, I think there are a lot of positives to take from last night's performance and some things he needs to continue to improve upon.

The thing I've been preaching with Zach for a while now though is consistency. If he can keep up this level of play for the rest of the year, I truly think we're a borderline playoff team. Recent history suggests that he won't keep up this level of play but we'll have to see how the next few weeks go. Regardless, he probably bought himself a couple more weeks as the starter last night.

Anyway, let's get into it...(link to every throw by Zach here)

1st Quarter:
11:35, 1st & 10: Not a huge fan of this playcall, seems like a PA max protect where only Wilson and Lazard go out on routes? Becton allows early pressure to his inside (yikes), Zach tries to force a tight-window throw to GW who ran a comeback on the sideline. Gay gets his hands up and bats the ball up in the air before it falls incomplete. (0-1)

11:29, 2nd & 10: This is the Zach Wilson we need to see going forward. GW runs a 5 yard hitch route from the slot, Zach does an abbreviated 3 step drop and the ball is out once he hits his back foot. Good, confident throw. (1-2, 5 yards)

10:50, 3rd & 5: A miss by Zach. I said this in the game thread last night but it looks like GW is expecting this ball to be more towards the sideline after he runs a curl/comeback route split out wide. It's likely the overload blitz that forced McGovern into Zach's lap affected the throw but this is one Zach still needs to hit. The CB is playing inside leverage, this ball has to be thrown towards the sideline and not back into the field of play. (1-3, 5 yards)

7:46, 1st & 10: PA pass out of 13 personnel. Zach hits Breece as he leaks out into the flat. Without being able to see the All-22 just yet, not sure if someone else is open but I can't fault a QB for hitting a wide open guy on 1st & 10 for a gain of 7. Solid play. (2-4, 12 yards)

6:23, 3rd & 1: Another bad play by Zach here. Appears to be a levels concept out of 12 personnel. This route concept is designed to put stress on those underneath zone defenders and make them make your decision for you. The hook zone defender goes with Conklin, leaving a wide open throwing lane to Uzomah 10 yards past the LOS. Zach makes the wrong read and throws to Conklin in double coverage. It even looks like GW is his first read on the play. I would've rather he made that throw than come to his 2nd read in Conk and make that throw. (2-5, 12 yards)

2:45, 2nd & 11: Zach hits Breece for a gain of 4 over the middle. Not a massive fan of this hospital dump down to Breece but again, without being able to see the All-22, that might have been all he had on this play. (3-6, 16 yards)

1:59, 3rd & 7: Again, this is the Zach Wilson this team needs going forward. The ball is out once Zach hits his back foot in his 5 step drop and hits GW on time on an out from the slot for a gain of 10. Well done. (4-7, 26 yards)

1:16, 1st & 10: Hackett got into his bag early last night but this was a fleaflicker that didn't go as planned. Zach's got pressure in his face as soon as the ball is back in his hands from the right side. Evades that pressure and tries to leak out. The replay here shows that he's got a window to Lazard here. Ball needs to be out of his hands as soon as he evaded that initial pressure but he gets more pressure from a S and doesn't make the throw. Don't want to beat him up too much here but he needs to stand strong after that initial pressure and try to get that ball to Lazard. Sack. (4-7, 26 yards)

0:30, 2nd & 20: Zach hits Gipson out in the flat for a gain of 4. Again, without the advantage of the All-22 just yet, not sure if anything else is there but I don't hate the decision to hit a speedy guy in the flat and see if he can make a few guys miss in an unfavorable down and distance. (5-8, 30 yards)

2nd Quarter:
15:00, 3rd & 16: Zach hits Conklin for a gain of 11 on an intermediate crosser. Not a massive fan of throwing the ball short of the line to gain on 3rd and long but if Conklin can just break one tackle, this is a first down and maybe more. Tough spot to be in but would rather this ball be thrown past the sticks. (6-9, 41 yards)

12:41, 2nd & 8: PA pass out of 21 personnel, GW is wide open on a deep in. Zach makes a good throw and hits him between the numbers for a gain of 14. Good play, good pass. (7-10, 55 yards)

11:58, 1st & 10: PA boot out of 21 personnel. Great route by Lazard who had McDuffie in a blender. This is why you sign Lazard, you expect him to win these 50/50 balls against a smaller CB more often than not. If Zach leads Lazard on this ball, it's might be a touchdown. So not a perfect throw by Zach but he's got pressure in his face, so he's not able to fully step into it. Lazard makes a great adjustment and comes back to make the catch for a gain of 39 yards. Not perfect but a solid play overall. Dial up some more deep shots like this Hack! (8-11, 94 yards)

11:09, 1st & 10: PA boot out of 13 personnel. Zach identifies Ruckert as open early on and hits him in the flat for a gain of 3. Solid play. (9-12, 97 yards)

10:34, 2nd & 6: More of these play calls Hackett. RPO look out of 11 personnel Zach makes the right read and hits GW on the bubble. Conk gets blown back a little so GW has to come inside for a gain of 4. (10-13, 101 yards)

10:01, 3rd & 3: Conk has got to come down with this ball. Not sure what the play call here is but I think it's sort of a mesh concept where the whole goal is to just muddy up the middle and hope someone breaks free. Zach gets some pressure from his left which forces him out of the pocket. He tries to make a difficult throw across his body to Conk in the EZ. Zach does have MC wide open in the flat for an easy first down and maybe more but Zach makes a play for the EZ and I'm not gonna beat him up terribly for it. Is this a perfect throw? No, but it hits Conk in his hands as he makes a diving attempt for it. Conk is gonna want that one back and I bet Zach will too as he could've made a better throw. (10-14, 101 yards)

9:42, 1st & 15: PA screen pass out of 11 personnel. For everyone complaining about the officiating in this game, here's an example of where we got a favorable call too. Breece ends up making something out of nothing and would've had a gain of just 2 yards but the refs gave us a questionable horse collar call. (11-15, 103 yards)

9:19, 1st & 10: PA pass out of 13 personnel. This is a bad miss by Zach. Not in the sense that it's a terrible over throw, we've seen much worse than this but this is a throw that Zach has to hit. GW is wide open on a go down the sideline with no one over the top. No other way to spin it, Zach's gotta hit this throw. (11-16, 103 yards)

8:31, 3rd & 5: Another confident, on-time throw by Zach and a vet-savvy play by Cobb here. The ball is out as soon as Zach hits his back foot on his drop. The throw is a maybe a yard or two short of the sticks so Cobb sticks the ball out past the line to gain as he goes out of bounds. Gain of 5, first down. Good play. (12-17, 108 yards)

7:54, 1st & 10: Not sure why this play is included in a "Zach's throws" YT video but I'll give a little commentary on it. Another example of Hackett really opening up the playbook. These are the types of plays we expected to be a part of the offense when we signed Hardman but I guess they like Gipson for these now. PA end-around where Zach flips the ball back to Gipson after the PA fake. Gipson showing why he made the roster with plays like these, gains about 8 initially but breaks a tackle and gets another 7-8 yards for a gain of about 15 down to the 5 yard line. Great play by the UDFA rookie and great playcall by Hackett.

6:32, 2nd & Goal: PA pass out of 13 personnel. Excellent job by Zach of selling this play fake to buy himself and Uzomah adequate time for this route to develop. Excellent touch throw by Zach to hit Uzomah along the sideline as he releases on a sort of delay EZ fade route. Beautiful offense. (12-17, 109 yards, 1 TD)

 

2:15, 1st & 10: Another RPO look out of 11 personnel. Zach makes the right read and hit GW on the bubble where we have the numbers advantage on the outside. GW makes a couple of guys miss for a gain of 4. (13-18, 113 yards, 1 TD)

2:00, 2nd & 6: Seems like a designed screen pass out of 11 personnel. Tippman needs to give Zach another tick here, especially when his guy is arguably the best DT in the league. Not a great throw by Zach and almost gets picked by the DT who reads the screen but the pass falls incomplete. (13-19, 113 yards, 1 TD)

1:57, 3rd & 6: Perfect checkdown by Zach here. Chiefs clearly in a prevent type defense and giving a lot of cushion underneath. Zach hits MC on a sit down route a yard short of the sticks but the nearest defender is almost 5 yards away. Gain of 10. Great decision. (14-20, 123 yards, 1 TD)

1:35, 1st & 10: Looks like an inverted smash concept out of 11 personnel. Both slot guys seem to run out routes while the outside receivers run corner routes. Zach sees Conklin break open on the out towards the sideline and makes a great throw to him for a gain of 9. Well done. (15-21, 132 yards, 1 TD)

1:07, 1st & 10: Seems to be the exact same play call as the one above. This time Zach sees Cobb break open on the wide side of the field and hits him. Cobby needs to get OOB here but good play overall for a gain of 3. (16-22, 135 yards, 1 TD)

0:43, 2nd & 7: Seems to be a verticals play call out of 11 personnel. Zach gets pressured through the A-gap fairly quickly. Breaks out of the pocket and gets past a couple of Chiefs defenders. Makes a good throw to MC close to the sticks but MC drops it. Definitely one MC wants back. Can't ask anything more from a QB in this spot though. Would've had us at 1st & 10 around the 30 yard line with 30 seconds to go and 2 timeouts. Tough one to look back on now knowing how the rest of the game unfolded. (16-23, 135 yards, 1 TD)

0:35, 3rd & 7: Zach hits GW on a comeback out of 11 personnel. Pocket gets a little muddy which doesn't allow Zach to fully step into the throw and leaves it short of the line to gain. Great catch by GW but it short of the sticks by a yard for a gain of 6. (17-24, 141 yards, 1 TD)

0:18, 1st & 10: Zach makes a great decision early in his dropback to try and scramble to get some yardage. The additional angle on the broadcast confirms this is a great play. No one is open so Zach takes off for a gain of about 14 yards. MetLife turf almost gains another victim too. (17-24, 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 14 yards)

0:08, 1st & 10: Bad misfire by Zach. Not sure what happened here but this ball is way behind GW who appears to have ran a crosser from the slot. I think GW gets quite a bit here too and maybe even a TD as it looks like no one is past him after the incompletion. This is one that Zach definitely wants back and another example of his lack of consistency. He needs to hit this pass as worst case we get another shot at a FG, best case it's a 50 yard TD to GW. (17-25, 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush 14 yards)

0:04, 2nd & 10: Nothing doing here. OL doesn't give us a chance to set up the hail mary attempt. Chris Jones beats Becton around the edge and gets a sack on Zach. (17-25, 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush 14 yards)

First half breakdown:
Zach wasn't perfect in this half, he had a couple of bad throws but this is a version of Zach that this team can win with. Those stats aren't going to blow anyone away but the Chiefs have a solid defense and the offense did enough to make this a 1 score game at half. A lot of positives to take away and some things to learn from and improve upon.

 

3rd Quarter:
15:00, 1st & 10: This is a big boy throw. Zach hits Conklin on a back-shoulder throw on a seam route to kick off the 2nd half for a gain of 25 . Confident throw and on time again. Hits his back foot, takes a hitch step up, and the ball is out. Great throw, great catch. Beautiful. (18-26, 166 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 14 yards)

14:22, 1st & 10: PA pass out of 12 personnel. Zach is again on time with this throw and hits Lazard on a sit down at the sticks for a gain of 12. Great stuff. (19-27, 178 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 14 yards)

12:53, 2nd & 7: This is some vintage A A Ron stuff. Ruckert runs a slot fade out of an empty set. Zach puts the ball where only Ruckert can make a play on it. Perfect play call, perfect throw, gain of 23. (20-28, 201 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 14 yards)

11:24, 2nd & 13: Confident Zach is my favorite Zach. Again, this ball is out when Zach hits his back foot on his drop. This is Zach trusting his reads and playing with confidence. Zach hits GW on an out route from the slot for a gain of 5. (21-29, 206 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 14 yards)

10:45, 3rd & 8: It doesn't get more "big boy throw" than this. Lazard runs a little stutter post/seam route from the outside of the bunch set to the left side of the formation. Again, confident Zach is my favorite Zach. He sees his window and hits an absolute dot to Lazard in the EZ for a gain of 10 and a TD. These are the types of plays I've wanted from Zach since he was drafted. Excellent catch by Lazard too, looks like the defender actually gets a piece of the ball at the end but he keeps his concentration and hauls it in. Perfection. (22-30, 216 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

10:40, 2-PT Attempt: Tomlinson allows Jones to beat him instantly. Zach does a great job of not retreating but actually steps up into the pocket. Zach then scrambles out to the left and dives across the goal line for the 2. Tie ball game. (Side note: wild to think that after this play, only 3 more points were scored the rest of the game)

8:54, 1st & 10: For some reason this play is left out of the YT video. Had to go into my YTTV DVR recording of the game to see what happened. Looks like an 11 personnel group with Gipson in the backfield on one side and Cook on the other. Zach tries to hit GW on a comeback down the near sideline on the broadcast angle but misses. Not a great throw or a miscommunication between the 2 of them on when GW is supposed to stop there. (22-31, 216 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

8:50, 2nd & 10: This essentially feels like a bubble screen to Cook here. Cook starts in sort of a wing position just behind Becton. Would much rather this play call go to Breece or MC. Cook seems to be washed, I'm afraid. Not great blocking so maybe I'm being too critical of Cook here but it just looks like he's lost more than just a step. Gain of 2. (23-32, 218 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

8:12, 3rd & 8: Seems to be another verticals call out of 11 personnel. Will have to see if the routes changed one they got out of the broadcast angle but Zach hits his checkdown in MC well short of the sticks for a gain of 2. If it's a verticals play call, I don't love it but I'll hold of on further commentary until I can see a different angle. (24-33, 219 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

3:31, 2nd & 11: Another misfire by Zach as he tries to hit Cobb on a quick out. Gotta hit this one as it would've made the 3rd down a little more manageable. (24-34, 219 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

3:27, 3rd & 11: Zach gets lucky that this ball isn't picked. However, I would like to direct everyone's attention to the top of the screen on this replay. The fact that the officials allowed this to happened but then called Sauce for the holding call on the Chiefs final drive is unbelievable. The CB literally puts GW into a chokehold off the snap and they swallow their flags. I didn't even see this during the game but seeing this now, knowing how the rest of the game unfolded, makes me sick to my stomach. Utter incompetence. (24-35, 219 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

4th Quarter:
10:12, 2nd & 10: Double outs out of a trips look. Zach double clutches and throws the ball to GW on the out for a gain of 4. (25-36, 223 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

9:34, 3rd & 6: Beautiful ball by Zach. Puts it only where GW can get it on a curl route from the slot and GW makes a tremendous catch for a gain of 8. Well done all around. (26-37, 231 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

8:55, 1st & 10: PA boot out of 13 personnel where Conklin leaks into the flat from the opposite side of the formation. Excellent play by Zach who hits Conk with pressure in his face. Conk gives his guy a little TE shimmy and gets 13 yards and a first down. (27-38, 244 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards)

7:31, 2nd & 9: This is simply a mistake that a 3rd year QB can not make. This is by far Zach's biggest mistake of the game. He talked about it in his post game presser but they had prepared him for this look and he felt he was gonna get pressure quickly from his left so he was preparing to drift out of the pocket to the right to give himself more room to throw it. I haven't gotten onto Zach for a lot for this game, but this one was a typical Zach mistake and one that he can't allow to continue to happen. (27-38, 244 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards, 1 fumble)

Half by half stat break down:

1st Half:
17-25, 141 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush 14 yards

2nd Half:
10-13, 103 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble

Total:
27-38, 244 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush, 14 yards, 1 fumble (ESPN has him listed at 28-39 for 245 so I've missed a 1 yard completion somewhere but oh well)

 

TLDR; Zach Wilson totally flipped the script from last week IMO. Last night, I saw a confident passer who was throwing the ball in rhythm and within the timing of the offense. I saw a passer who, more often than not, made the right read and distributed the ball very well. This might have been Zach's best game as a pro. I think I would put it right up there with the Bucs game and Titans game from his rookie year. He threw for the most completions in his career (28, previous high was 23), had his 2nd highest comp % as a pro (71.8%), his highest QB rating (105.2), and had his 4th best QBR score (65.9).

The version of Zach Wilson that we got last night is a version of Zach that we can win with and, IMO, make a push for a playoff spot with. No moral victories but fighting back from a 17 point hole against the defending champs is a hell of a thing to add to his resume.

I'm not fully back on the Zach Wilson bandwagon just yet but last night was a hell of a start for him to try and convince me, and many others, that he should be this team's starting QB for the rest of the year. We've just gotta hope he can be consistent and string together a few more of these types of games.

 

That comment wasn't meant to suggest I think Zach has a fumbling problem. It was a mental mistake by him which is generally his MO when it comes to turnovers in general.

Sorry for any confusion!

 

I agree. Doesn't ruin his good night but it was a bad mental mistake.