Zach Wilson did not have any spectacular throws on Saturday night, but he did have a highlight-reel run.

The Jets quarterback scampered for a 35-yard gain in the second quarter, escaping a near sack by Patrick O’Connor and then juking J.J. Russell and Anthony Nelson before running up the sideline for the long run in a 13-6 loss to the Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium.

“I kind of told myself in this game that if they wanted to drop some guys, I’ve got to get down to my outlets or try to get out of the pocket,” Wilson said. “It was also a goal, I think Aaron [Rodgers] mentioned in the first game, to use my feet a little bit. We’ve been in camp and everything’s throwing it quite a bit and trying to stay in the pocket and get rid of it. But a part of the game is being able to extend plays after, too. That was a part of it as well.”

It’s debateable whether it was wise for Wilson to try to pick up the extra yards by cutting back in and lowering his shoulder.

A year ago, he suffered a knee injury on a preseason scramble against the Eagles and missed the first three games of the season.

“He’s such a competitor,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “You’d love for him to slide out of bounds right there, just call it a day on that run, but he’s a competitor.”

The start may have been Wilson’s last for a long while.

Saleh has left the door open for Rodgers to start the preseason finale against the Giants next Saturday, and said it would be discussed this week.

Wilson surely will play in that game, but he will come off the bench in his new role as Rodgers’ backup.

Wilson, who has started the first three preseason games, played the first half last night and then exited at halftime.

Wilson had no highlight throws, but he also had no major mistakes.

He did have one near interception, but a Tampa Bay defender could not reel it in. Wilson went 9-for-13 passing for 70 yards.

His passer rating was 82.2, and he threw mostly short passes, averaging 3.6 air yards per attempt.

His longest pass was a 26-yard gain by rookie Jason Brownlee.

It has been a mostly positive preseason for Wilson, who lost his status as the face of the franchise and quarterback of the future with a terrible 2022 season.

Wilson’s struggles led the Jets to seek a new quarterback this offseason, and they traded for Rodgers in April.

The Jets, who have been supportive of Wilson, have said they want him to regain his confidence and they hope he has a future with the team.

That all may be true, but they also will be hoping Wilson won’t have to play at all in the regular season this year.

The Jets are banking on Rodgers leading them to the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl.

While Wilson has had some decent moments in training camp, he still cannot be expected to lead the Jets in regular-season games.

After the game Saturday, Wilson spoke about his regained confidence.

“I [didn’t] feel as comfortable and confident [last year] as I do right now, of course,” Wilson said. “For whatever reason, I would like to say I tried to be. I would like to say I knew what was going on. But obviously things didn’t work out that way. For whatever reason it is, I do feel like there’s a better understanding of what’s going on now.”

Wilson said he probably should have run out of bounds on the 35-yard gain, but admitted he thought back to his 2021 touchdown run against the Jaguars and thought he could reach the end zone as he did in that game.

After the long run Saturday, Rodgers ribbed Wilson when he got back to the sideline.

“He said I was watching his highlight film from 10 years ago when he was a younger player,” Wilson said.

Wilson seems to be in a good place entering his third season. Being able to step back and learn under Rodgers is helping him.

He said he is having more fun.

“It doesn’t need to be so stressful,” Wilson said. “It doesn’t need to be putting so much stress on your shoulders every single day to be perfect.

“Sometimes when the eyes are off of you, it gives you a real good opportunity to learn. I definitely think that’s helping.”