Zach Wilson has funny reaction to facing Sam Darnold and Panthers in Week 1

One of the Week 1 matchups certain to attract the most attention surprisingly involves two teams that didn’t make the playoffs in 2020. That said, the storylines for the matchup between the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers are definitely juicy.

The matchup features the Jets’ new quarterback Zach Wilson facing off against the team’s former quarterback, Sam Darnold. Both were first-round picks and heralded as franchise quarterbacks, with Wilson replacing Darnold in 2021.

Wilson was asked about the matchup on Thursday, and he certainly seemed to think it was the NFL’s doing to set up a game like that to start the season.

“My first reaction is just typical NFL, right?” Wilson said, via Riley Gates of 247Sports. “I mean, they love it. They love to bring the fans and I love it. I mean, what an exciting matchup it’s going to be for us. I’m excited to be able to play them, a great team.”

Wilson is probably right. NFL schedule makers definitely pay attention to news and storylines around the NFL. While the matchups are predetermined, the order isn’t, and this was obviously pretty appealing to set up in Week 1.