Back in the day, the Jets had a quarterback they believed could rule the AFC East. Chad Pennington, the 18th pick in the 2000 draft, was likened by some to a young Joe Montana in 2002, even though Tom Brady, the 199th pick in the same draft, had already won a Super Bowl. 

As the Jets were preparing for a playoff game in Oakland, Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski declared his defense would “put our hats on [Pennington] for 60 minutes and we’ll see if this guy’s the next Joe Montana.” 

With the 30-10 demolition complete, Romanowski said, “I think we saw tonight that he’s not.” 

He ended up being right. Derailed by injury, Pennington was a good player, certainly not a legendary one. His story resonates today because, well, you just never know about young quarterbacks. Nobody could have imagined then that Pennington would win only one AFC East title for the Jets (and another later for Miami) while Brady would win 17 for the Patriots. 

All these years later, the Jets have another young quarterback they believe can someday own the division. Zach Wilson won’t be measured against his most recent foe, Brady, because the great one left the AFC East for some fun in the sun in Tampa. And yet Wilson’s long-term divisional competition looks formidable all the same. 

Sunday’s opponent, Josh Allen, is already an established star in Buffalo at age 25. Mac Jones, drafted 13 spots later than Wilson, has already led the Patriots to the playoffs at age 23. Though Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t solidified his future in Miami, the potential arrival of 26-year-old Deshaun Watson could make the division that much tougher to navigate. 

Is the 22-year-old Wilson up to it? Is he talented enough to ultimately overtake a big and powerful thoroughbred the likes of Allen? Is he smart enough to outfox Jones and a support system that includes Bill Belichick (probably for another four or five years, anyway) and the best offensive coordinator of his generation in Josh McDaniels? 

It’s too early to tell. But if all goes according to the Jets’ plan, Wilson will be their quarterback for the next 15-plus years and will likely be matched up with Allen and Jones for most of that time. Asked Thursday if he embraced that long-haul challenge, Wilson said, “Yeah, absolutely, that’s the goal. That’s what I’m here working for, to play that long, and I think the matchups within our division are awesome as well.” 

The rookie steered the conversation to the opposing AFC East defenses he faces, a smart pivot given that the Bills defend the pass better than anyone. But once again, as much as quarterbacks love to point out that they don’t directly compete against each other on the field, there is a reason why wins and losses aren’t assigned to any other position other than the guy standing behind center. The quarterback’s chief responsibility is to score more points than the other team’s quarterback, so the direct competition between them is very real. 

“Hopefully I can take that challenge on and just be here as long as I can,” Wilson said. 

Toward that end, last Sunday was a pretty good place to start. Wilson had a chance to beat Brady, and made the mistake of running a sneak on fourth-and-2. The kid’s fellow rookie, Mike LaFleur, said the unforced error was “100 percent on me,” but the offensive coordinator wasn’t the one who decided a near-impossible keeper was a better option on the call than a handoff to Braxton Berrios, who’d been running wild. Wilson should have known better. 

But all in all, he played his best game as a pro against the defending champs. After a lot of clueless-looking football this year, Wilson has lately appeared comfortable, decisive and fast, not unlike the quarterback he loves to study on tape, Aaron Rodgers. “He’s been getting better and better every single week,” said LaFleur, who called Wilson’s ball placement on some throws spectacular. 

“It’s been fun to watch him grow,” said Jets coach Robert Saleh. 

Considering the severity of the growing pains during this 4-12 season, “fun” isn’t the way most Jets fans would describe the process. Of course, fans won’t care about the record in 2021 as long as Wilson matches the career arc of Allen, who, in his first year in Buffalo, threw for 10 touchdowns against 12 interceptions and completed only 52.8 percent of his attempts. 

Truth is, nobody really knows what will become of rookie quarterbacks; Brady, after all, started out as a fourth-stringer in Foxborough who threw only three passes in Year 1. Wilson won’t have to deal with him like Chad Pennington and a procession of overmatched Jets quarterback did, but he will have to deal with Allen and Jones/Belichick and who knows in Miami. 

It’s a tough ask, but the Jets won’t take over this division unless Zach Wilson becomes the beast of the AFC East.