It appears Quinnen Williams saw some similarities between a dysfunctional 49ers offense in the NFC Championship game and the Jets. He felt some sympathy toward San Francisco edge rusher Nick Bosa because of that, too.
“Now Bosa see what I been going threw [sic], No offense,” Williams, a Jets defensive lineman, said in a since-deleted tweet, according to multiple users who screenshotted it.
The Jets’ offense struggled this season under offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and a trio of quarterbacks — Zach Wilson, Mike White and Joe Flacco. They didn’t score a touchdown across the final three games of the regular season. Wilson was benched, regained his starting job and then benched again.
San Francisco faced a different scenario on Sunday, as third-string quarterback Brock Purdy suffered an elbow injury and fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson subsequently suffered a concussion. And as a result, the 49ers needed to turn back to Purdy — who couldn’t throw the ball downfield — and a plethora of rushing attempts and screen passes the rest of the game.
That eventually led to San Francisco’s 31-7 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship game, which secured Philadelphia a berth in Super Bowl 2023. Miles Sanders rushed for two touchdowns, Boston Scott contributed one and quarterback Jalen Hurts scored the Eagles’ final touchdown of the afternoon on a quarterback sneak.
Williams compiled his best season in 2022, making the Pro Bowl and earning a First-Team AP All-Pro selection. In 16 games, he recorded 12 sacks, 28 quarterback hits and 12 tackles for loss — career-highs in all three categories. He also told reporters after the season that he won’t participate in the voluntary portion of offseason workouts without a contract extension, as Williams will enter 2023 on the final year of his rookie deal.
In an attempt to fix their offensive struggles, the Jets and LaFleur parted ways, and New York hired former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett as its new coordinator. That only increased speculation about a veteran quarterback such as Aaron Rodgers, who Hackett worked with in Green Bay, landing with the team, as it faces a conundrum of what to do with an ineffective Wilson.
