Jets 24, Steelers 20
ZACH WILSON: I think there was so much growth in those last two minutes as an offense for us, to be able to put a drive like that together as clean as it was and punch it in was awesome?
Q. In the first quarter things were going well and then there was a stretch in the 2nd and third where you missed some throws and turnovers and it seemed like you settled down a little bit in the fourth. What changed for you?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, it's just the NFL, man. We had some good things going early, we score, things get stalled out. My mentality is just keep doing my job, keep doing my job, keep chipping away and relaying that message, and everybody did. Everyone kept fighting. There was never a single time we were going out there that anyone was down. There was frustration, but it was the right frustration.
So I think what a cool opportunity and moment for us as an offense to be able to lose a lead like that, have some turnovers and then need to rebound and move on from those.
Q. Have you ever caught a touchdown before?
ZACH WILSON: I don't know. It was pretty cool, though.
Q. What were you thinking as that one is coming to you, as that ball is coming in?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, first I hand it and I see everyone flowing, and I'm like, oh, thank goodness. I've got the best hands on the team.
Q. When you're talking about emotions are you talking about regular in-game emotions or what you might have been feeling it was your first time out this year?
ZACH WILSON: A little bit of both. I thought this was probably the most comfortable I've ever felt from a pregame standpoint coming into a game. Of course my expectation was nothing is going to be perfect because it's not. It never is. I felt like I had the right mentality and I felt like everybody else did, as well. But to your point, I feel like the emotions, the ups and downs of the game was kind of really what I was talking about, having a couple drives where we were stalling and going three-and-out sucks, but it's part of the game, and our defense did a great job getting us the ball back.
Q. Did you say anything to your guys in the huddle after the Michael Carter pick? Did you say anything before that last drive?
ZACH WILSON: It was really just kind of the whole game, just trying to give those guys some juice, telling them to keep fighting, keep going. We're battling all this together, keep going, and they did. Everyone responded well, and we were all on the same page.
Q. You had a couple plays there where you evaded a rush and moved around, one of them early in the game. Did you almost need that to happen to go, okay, knee is fine, we're good?
ZACH WILSON: The cool part is I feel like I'm in a such a good spot with the knee that from the beginning, I never thought about it once the entire game. I felt like I was in a pretty good spot. I felt like our training staff did a good job getting it ready for me. There's so much going on, I don't think I thought about it once.
Q. You said how comfortable you were in pregame. Is that just a function of being in your second year? What kind of led to that?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, a little bit of both. We spent a little time throwing a little extra with the guys today, I think got us on the same page. I think that was good for us. Besides that, I think just second year, having a little bit of experience and knowing what to expect helps there, too.
Q. Can you talk about the connections to Garrett, 3rd down, and then 4th down conversion to Corey?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, huge. I mean, it's cool seeing those plays, right, because it just shows the team effort there. The O-line did a great job holding up there, making the pocket feel comfortable.
Those guys do a great job separating in their man coverage, winning at the top. I can see the routes that they're giving me. Easy for me to sit back there and hit them when everyone is doing their job like that. So I think credit to those guys for keeping battling. It was awesome.
Q. What did you see on your two interceptions?
ZACH WILSON: I mean, it's tough. Obviously the one, I've got to throw lower. The other one, it was a man beater, running away from guys. That was my best look side. That's unfortunate. It was a good play over there by the corner. I've got to throw a better ball. Still missed a little bit over Jeff's head, but I've still got to be able to see that, hold on to it, live to play the next down.
Q. What was your mentality? When you got the ball with a chance, 65 yards away from the touchdown, what do you think at that point?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, I mean, it was cool. I feel like I have a little bit of a different mentality this year. It's do my job, give it everything I've got and live to play with the result. I think everybody did, too.
I felt like that was the first time as an offense we didn't feel stagnant, we didn't feel timid. Everyone was playing fast. We were right on cue with what the calls were. So much fun playing in those situations.
Q. It sounded like you expected to go down and score?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, 100 percent. From the beginning I think there was no doubt in my mind, especially when we hit a couple quick passes and stuff there, too, and we were running the ball well. I feel like as an offense you can just feel it.
Q. You talked about the growth of the offense. On that second to last drive when you guys had the two penalties to turn 1st and goal into 1st and 11 or whatever, for you to come back from that, what do you think that says about the growth of the offense and just overall the adversity?
ZACH WILSON: Yeah, that was frustrating, but I think, again, it's part of the game, and next-play mentality, and the guys did a great job responding, putting us in a great situation.
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FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports