Zach Wilson and the Jets offense were expected to struggle.

And on Sunday, without their best receivers and rushers, combined with some pretty bad play execution from Wilson, the Saints beat up on the Jets, who lost 30-9.

This was an opportunity to see Wilson rise to the challenge of elevating the talent around him. That’s a quality quarterbacks will have to show throughout their career. It’s a tough ask, especially for a rookie quarterback, and Wilson could not do it.

Wilson went 19-of-42 for 202 passing yards, with zero touchdowns, and the Jets to just nine points.

The Saints’ game plan was not hard to figure out. They leaned on Alvin Kamara and the run game. The Jets could not stop it for large chunks of the day. Kamara had 27 carries for 120 yards and a 16-yard touchdown. QB Tayson Hill did not have to do much with his arm, but ran for two touchdowns, including a 44-yarder with 1:07 left in the game.

The New York Mets are in the midst of a thorough search for the ball club’s next manager, and developments suggest a front-runner may have emerged.

Buck Showalter interviewed with Mets brass, and it appears the veteran skipper made a great first impression.

Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Showalter interviewed very well during a meeting conducted via Zoom.

“They were pretty impressed with Buck today,” said a person with knowledge of Showalter’s interview. “It went really well.”

Current Dodgers bench coach and one-time Oakland Athletics manager Bob Geren also interviewed with the Mets.

Nearly a half-century after his death, Gil Hodges has an added line to a resume that includes U.S. Marine, All-Star first baseman and World Series-winning manager. He’s a Hall of Famer.

In his 35th appearance on a ballot for Cooperstown, the former Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers star and guiding force behind the 1969 Miracle Mets obtained the necessary 75 percent of the vote from the Golden Days Era committee for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame.

Hodges joined Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso and Tony Oliva as selections by the committee. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America will announce its 2022 Hall of Fame selections next month.

In 18 major league seasons, Hodges hit 370 homers and amassed 1,274 RBIs and 1,921 hits. An eight-time National League All-Star selection he won three straight Gold Gloves at first base beginning in 1957 when the award was first instituted. He played for World Series winning teams in Brooklyn (1955) and Los Angeles (1959). During Hodges’ peak seasons (1949-59) only Dodgers teammate Duke Snider amassed more homers and RBIs among MLB players. Hodges retired with the third-highest home run total by a right-handed hitter, behind only Jimmie Foxx and Willie Mays.

As manager of the Mets, he took the team from worst-to-first, finishing 100-62 in 1969 before defeating the Orioles in five games in the World Series for the first of only two championships in franchise history. The ’69 Mets included Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Nolan Ryan.