Father knows best: Dad alerted QB to postgame gaffe

Zach Wilson said what he said in that fateful postgame press conference following the Jets’ loss to the Patriots Sunday and he was about to board the team bus when his father texted him.

“Bro, what are you doing?’’ Mike Wilson asked his son.

“I didn’t realize what I said,’’ the 23-year-old second-year quarterback said Wednesday after being demoted to thirdstring in favor of Mike White. “I let my emotions get the best of me and it took ’til a little bit after when we were getting ready to leave and my pops gave me a call. It was before I even stepped on the bus. He shot me a text and said, ‘What did you say?’

“I was like, ‘I’m not sure.’ He sent [the TV clip] to me and instantly right there I knew I let my emotions get the best of me.’’

Wilson, after a miserable performance in the Jets 10-3 loss (during which he completed 9 of 22 for 77 yards), was asked if he felt like the offense “let down’’ the defense. “No,’’ he said, before repeating, “No.’’

That set off a firestorm of criticism for a player who’s a team captain and the supposed face of the franchise.

Bent on making it right with his teammates, Wilson on Wednesday gathered the entire team together and addressed his teammates.

While speaking to reporters afterward, Wilson sounded sincere and humbled.

Asked when he knew he wanted to address his teammates, Wilson said, “The second it was brought to my attention of what I said. I just wanted to make this thing right. I had a sick feeling in my stomach. The way that I handled things is not what a leader should do — especially the quarterback of the football team in that situation.

“I had that sick feeling in my stomach. I just wanted to talk to the guys. It was the only thing I could think of the last couple of days — I wanted the opportunity to talk to those guys and really make it from the heart.’’

Wilson’s words and his sentiment, according to teammates, struck all the right chords.

Cornerback D.J. Reed was one of the players Wilson spoke to on the team bus after the New England game.

“Zach spoke to me after the game after he slipped up and said what he said and he apologized and said he didn’t mean it like that, that he was just frustrated,’’ Reed told The Post. “He wasn’t trying to show up the defense. I didn’t take it personal. A lot of guys didn’t take it personal.

“What he said today was very genuine; it came from his heart. It was very real. He definitely poured his heart out, to say the least. He’s a competitive guy who wants to get his starting job back, but at the same time he’s going to 100 percent support Mike [White, the new starter) and be a great leader, because he is one of our captains.

“If he didn’t already have it, he definitely earned and gained everyone’s respect from what he said today.’’

Veteran defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, like Reed another important voice inside the locker room, told The Post, “I think it speaks to the type of man and teammate Zach truly is, and that you can’t look at his one moment of frustration and saying what he said and think that depicts who he is as a man, as a brother, as a teammate. It meant a lot for him to do that, because he didn’t have to.

“But for him to stand up in front of his brothers, his teammates and to break it down to us and let us know where he was coming from, it means a lot going forward and we’ve got his back.’’