“Aaron Believed in Me”: Garrett Wilson Reflects on “Cool Play” That Davante Adams Missed During Concussion Evaluation

Week 9’s Thursday Night Football matchup was a roller coaster of emotions for the New York Jets. They thought they had an early lead, but ended up trailing 7-0 at halftime versus the Houston Texans. But through all the ups and downs, they were able to emerge with a 21-13 victory in the end.

New York’s biggest play of the night came from wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The third-year pro had already made an impressive one-handed catch to score the Jets’ first touchdown of the night in the third quarter.

But on 3rd-and-19 from the Texans’ 26-yard line a quarter later, he etched his name into NFL lore with a Jordan logo-esque leaping scoring grab.

Wilson’s insane reception gave New York a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. He reflected on the incredible play postgame with Amazon’s Kaylee Hartung, saying he “wasn’t thinking about much” as he ran downfield.

But he’s grateful quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who had a defender bearing down on his pocket, trusted him enough to give him a shot.

“Aaron believed in me… once the ball’s going up, it’s like you’ve got no other choice but to go and try and do what you can do… it was a cool play. We needed it. At the end of the day, I pride myself on coming through when we need it.”

Wilson told Hartung he “wasn’t that confident” the catch – which was initially ruled incomplete – would be overturned. But now, it could serve as a springboard for the Jets’ rest-of-season hopes.

Davante Adams scores first TD as a New York Jet

When Rodgers turned Wilson’s way on the critical third down, Davante Adams was not on the field. The newest Jets’ wideout, who secured a fourth-down catch earlier in the drive, briefly left the game to be evaluated for a concussion.

Adams went into the locker room as part of the assessment. But he eventually returned to the gridiron and did so with a fury.

As the clock dipped under three minutes on 3rd-and-3 from Houston’s 37-yard line, Adams shook Jalen Pitre on a slot fade. Rodgers proceeded to drop a beautiful pass in his longtime receiver’s basket. Adams hauled in the ball at the 15-yard line, then scampered into the end zone. The duo’s first touchdown in The Big Apple put the game on ice.

Postgame, Adams told Hartung he “let [a pass] get away” before halftime. He was determined not to let that play be his defining moment in this contest, “Once they let me back on that field… I was gonna jump in that thing ready to go. It ain’t my first rodeo… my team is counting on me.”

New York (3-6) now gets a mini-bye before facing the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.