Jet Up – Sam Darnold may be the secret sauce to success

The Jets were 0-4 heading into their Week 6 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys but it didn’t seem like all hope was lost. Sam Darnold returned to action for the first time since being sidelined with mono for four weeks, and the Jets looked like a completely different team because of him.

Darnold was 23-for-32 for 338 yards and two touchdowns. He had an interception as well but that seemed to be more a case of miscommunication than anything else. His best play of the day was a 92 yard strike to Robbie Anderson to put the Jets up by three scores.

Darnold was poised and primed for a big game after being out of the spotlight for a few weeks. He worked his way through a ton of Cowboy pressures with the fleetest of foot. He was able to get receivers open by holding onto the ball for just a second longer without taking a sack.

The defense stepped up to the plate as well, keeping Dak Prescott in the pocket all game and forcing him to try and beat them himself. While Dak was missing his two tackles and his best receiver in Amari Cooper, the Cowboys’ offense could never get going thanks to a relentless Jets’ pursuit.

After the Cowboys scored the last-second touchdown, Gregg Williams’ call to blitz Jamal Adams up the middle was a perfect one, as Prescott had zero time to get the play off. The ball fell in the endzone and the Jets secured the 24-22 victory, despite seven penalties on the final drive between the two teams.

It wasn’t he prettiest of victories but considering what the Cowboys were looked at to be, it was a great way to get the first win of the season. Kellen Moore could only watch as his quarterback was pounded over and over again. The combination of Sam Darnold and a ferocious defense was a successful one, and one that the Jets need to pair more often. When they’re firing on all cylinders, the Jets can hang with anyone in the league.