‘Unique’ Zach Wilson shows why Jets can be hopeful in bounce-back day

Hope wore No. 2. Not long ago, Hope wore No. 14, and No. 6 before that, and No. 10 before that, and No. 7 before that, and No. 14 before that, and of course No. 12 way back when.

Zach Wilson wore No. 2 Saturday as a small portion of a tortured fan base, which so often has sagged into hopelessness, watched his every move, his every throw, and wished upon a star yet again. The young franchise quarterback is the symbol of hope for a better and brighter tomorrow, and so with 1,000 Jets fans filling the stands for the first time since the pandemic began, and others lined up behind a fence overlooking Field 1, Zach Wilson’s honeymoon began, a love affair that will last long enough for the Jets to end a playoff drought that has already spanned a decade.