If the Jets can take anything positive from
their 22-16 preseason loss to the Giants, it is that quarterback Sam Darnold
made his best, and likely, final case for the starting quarterback job when the
season begins in 17 days.
The numbers showed that Darnold was 8-of-16 for 82 yards and a
touchdown, but he never turned the ball over, was a difference maker on the
field, and carried his team when it needed him.
Traits a coaching staff looks for in its starter.
Jets offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates has been harping on how
quickly Darnold has progressed this summer, and one thing is for sure, the
moment doesn’t look too big for him.
Behind a leaky offensive line, Darnold engineered an impressive
11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game.
His first pass of the evening was low, but a 12-yard completion
nonetheless to Quincy Enunwa, who was making his return to the field after
missing all of last year from neck surgery. Three plays later, Darnold
converted a huge third and eight on a 13-yard completion to Nate Sterling.
Later in the drive, with his pass protection breaking down around
him, Darnold stepped up in the pocket and took off for a 14-yard run on 3rd
and 13 at the Giants’ 35. It was a smart heads up play by a rookie quarterback.
After hitting Robbie Anderson on an 11-yard pass to convert New
York’s fifth first down of the drive, the Jets pitched the ball out to Bilal
Powell, who gashed the Giants for a 10-yard touchdown run.
Darnold wasn’t done carving up the Giants.
On the Jets third possession
of the game, Darnold was 4-for-4 for 46 yards, with a touchdown to Terrell
Pryor.
Two plays really stood out on the drive. Facing a third and six at
the Giants 28, Darnold found Enunwa open in single coverage and hit him for 16
yards to the Giants 12. Two plays later, Darnold made the solid decision of
checking down to Pryor on a screen pass, hitting him at the six, before the
veteran wide-out did the rest.
The feeling when he left? Darnold give the Jets the best chance to win ... now.
Teddy Bridgewater on the other hand did not help himself in the
quarterback battle.
While he was 7-of-7 at one point on a 78-yard drive that ended in a
field goal, he was madly inconsistent. He failed to move the offense at all on
his first two possessions under center, and when asked to get the Jets into the
end zone on that aforementioned 78-yard drive, he couldn’t finish the deal. Heck,
Bridgewater was nearly picked off at the Giants two-yard line on third and
goal.
Josh McCown didn’t play … again.
The ball is now Todd Bowels’ court. Will he actually trust a rookie
quarterback when the games count? Is he willing to sit the supposed “franchise
savior” no matter what criticism comes with it?
Certainly Darnold has made a solid case to become the Jets starting
quarterback right out of training camp, but there is a very good chance that
Jets fans will have to get used to seeing Josh McCown start the season.
The fact is Bowels is most comfortable with McCown. If you didn’t
get that vibe when he didn’t play the 39-year old quarterback in weeks 2 and 3
of the preseason for the second straight year, I don’t what will convince you. There
is a method to Bowles’ madness.
The Jets open the season with three games in 10 days, and will visit
the league’s second ranked defense in the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4. That may be a lot for a rookie to handle,
even for someone as smart as Darnold.
Not to mention, the Jets do not have a great team around Darnold
right now. The offensive line is woeful right now. The Jets running attack is
not going to scare people. The last thing Bowles and company need nor want is
for Darnold to be running for his life right out of the gate.
Decision time is now upon us. Todd Bowles’ future as head coach
depends on it.
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