Sam Darnold sure didn’t look the part of a rookie as the USC
product outdueled veteran Andrew Luck in a bizarre football game chuck full of
turnovers and poor tackling as the Jets outlasted the Colts 42-34.
Darnold was spectacular for Gang Green, completing 24 of 30
passes for 280 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. For the most part the
Jets continued the aggressive play they displayed a week ago against the Denver
Broncos.
What made Darnold’s effort that more spectacular was his
ability to get everyone involved, and never made the big mistake atypical of a
rookie quarterback.
Still, the Jets have to give a big thank you to the Colts.
Indianapolis turned the ball over four times to Jets leading to 24 points for
New York. Without the Colts inability to hold onto the football, this would
have been a very different game, because the Jets were horrendous defensively
in coverage.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 301 yards and four
touchdowns, with the Jets providing zero pressure upfront, and allowing guys
like Eric Ebron and Chester Rodgers to eat up huge chunks of yards through the
air.
With the Jets leading 23-13 at the start of the third
quarter, Darnold engineered an impressive 72-yard touchdown drive to open the
second half, capped off with a 32-yard bomb to tight end Chris Herndon to give
the Jets a dominating 30-13 lead.
Unfortunately the Jets went into a proverbial shell after
that score.
The Colts would score on their next two possessions; both
coming on long- 75-yard drives that cut the Jets lead to 33-27. Luck picked
apart a Jets secondary that was missing Trumaine Johnson and Buster Skrine, and
New York had no answer for the Colts.
Offensively, it felt like the Jets were too satisfied after
jumping out 30-13, settling for field goals as kicker Jason Myers set a
franchise record with seven field goals in the game.
Still the biggest moment in the game came with 8:11 to go in
the fourth quarter when the Jets finally got a rush on Luck and forced an
errant throw that was picked off by Darren Lee at midfield. It was the third
turnover the Jets forced on the former Pro Bowler.
The Jets turned the miscue into points on a 37-yard Myers
field goal to make it 39-27.
After Indianapolis went four-and-out on their ensuing possession,
the Jets again, took advantage of the short field, settling for a field goal to
make it 42-27.
With the victory, the Jets improve to 3-3 on the season, and
host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday at 1 p.m.
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