Zach Wilson, Mike LaFleur and the fallout from a Jets offense that never took flight

Robert Saleh saw a tweet in September that stuck with him. New York went into its bye week with a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs, per FiveThirtyEight, but Saleh’s message remained consistent: “We still have a long, long way to go.” Zach Wilson’s dreadful performance in a 10-3 loss to the Patriots after the bye week — followed by postgame comments skirting responsibility for his poor play — led to his benching. “We’ll have one route but it has a bunch of different names depending on the concept,” said a former Jets receiver who spent time with the team in training camp this year. Saleh insisted the Jets weren’t giving up on Wilson and said later in the season that they’d continue working with him through “hell or high water.” GO DEEPER Rosenblatt: Jets' Zach Wilson benching is a bold decision — and the right one The Jets beat the Bears 31-10 in White’s first start, and nearly beat the Vikings in Minnesota the following week. “I respect him a lot for reaching out and listening … it’s one thing to reach out and listen, and it’s another thing to be willing to do what it takes to change.” Mike LaFleur’s offense initially took off under Mike White, but it crashed after White’s rib injury pushed Zach Wilson back into the starting lineup.