Sam Darnold to Miss Monday Night vs. Pats

 Sam Darnold's disappointing 2020 season has taken another turn for the worse when word came down Sunday that the Jets quarterback will not play Monday night. 

 

Darnod is still bothered by a shoulder injury that caused him to miss two games earlier this year. As a result Joe Flacco will get the start against the equally inept New England Patriots (2-5). 

Darnold injured the shoulder in a Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos, when his shoulder was jammed into the turf on a sack. He hasn't been the same since. 

In the two games since he returned from the injury list, Darnold is 30-for-53 for 253 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Jets have scored only 19 points in those two games combined. 

This will be the ninth game of Darnold's career that he has missed, and the Jets are 0-8 in games he has missed. In the two games he missed this season, the Jets lost 30-10 to the Arizona Cardinals, and 24-0 to the Miami Dolphins. Both those teams (the Cardinals and Dolphins) look like wild card contenders in the NFC and AFC, respectfully. 

The injury is another strange twist in the Jets miserable 0-8 campaign. They would love to see Darnold take the field against New England, and prove that he is the long term solution at quarterback. 

However with each missed start, and each uneven performance, the likeihood the Jets will move on from Darnold at the end of this season only increases. It doesn't help Darnold's case when Trevor Lawrence is projected to come out of Clemson a year early, and is considered by most to be the number 1 pick. The Jets are likely destined for that pick if they keep losing. 

Should the Jets lose on Monday to New England, an 0-9 start will be the worst start to a season in franchise history.