Aaron Rodgers 'proud' of the way Zach Wilson played against Kansas City Chiefs

Zach Wilson was far from the most popular person inside MetLife Stadium on Sunday, but the New York Jets quarterback gained a ton of fans against the Kansas City Chiefs.

As Aaron Rodgers looked on from Jets owner Woody Johnson’s suite, and Patrick Mahomes watched from the opposite sidelines (Taylor Swift was in attendance as well, if you didn’t know), Wilson almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the NFL season thus far.

He balled out to the tune of 245 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Jets’ three-point loss, playing like the second-overall selection he was drafted to be. On Tuesday, Rodgers spoke about Wilson’s mettle, and elaborated on why he was elated to see his fellow New York signal-caller play to his potential.

“Zach and I talk almost every day. We’re very close, and I love him. I care about him. I’m always checking in on him, seeing how he’s doing,” started Rodgers, via The Pat McAfee Show. “I think you’ve seen a lot of great leadership growth from him. I think our society at times wants to cancel people, or label people and keep that label on him, regardless of any self-growth, or experience that changes your perspective on life. He’s been labeled a certain way by people, so when people see this other side, they don’t know what to think, or how to react. But Zach’s a young kid. He’s learning, he’s growing. He’s on his own path, his journey. Very proud of the leadership that he showed. I’m proud of the way he played.

“You know, I don’t need to pull him aside and tell him anything special. There wasn’t some kind of pep talk that I gave him that made him play better. I felt like the plan was a good plan. He got into a rhythm there in the second quarter. Made a bunch of really great throws. I thought the drive coming out of halftime was really fantastic. Started off the second half with a back-shoulder seam route to Conk (Tyler Conklin) and then hit a lot of other good throws on the drive. Hit his favorite play down in the red zone to Allen [Lazard] for a touchdown. Then ran QB draw. Had a great scramble to get in the end zone and get us tied. That thing, the whole place changed after that. I mean, it was pretty electric.”

With Aaron Rodgers out for the season (at least, that’s what medical experts believe), Zach Wilson will need to put up more performances similar to Week 4’s impressiveness. If he’s able to do so, perhaps the Jets aren’t as dead in the water as the NFL world previously believed.