The Jets have something special in Sam Darnold

A meaningless December win in a lost season may seem like a bad thing for the lottery bound Jets, but this win was one of the first milestone wins for Sam Darnold.  Darnold’s stats weren’t all that impressive, with a statline of 16/24 for 170 yards, one touchdown and one very bad interception.  The Jets won a tight game in Buffalo 27-23 and Darnold was the star of the game.

The reason why this article is being written is because in this complete lost season, a young quarterback with a nagging foot injury geared up in a very tough road environment and led his short-handed team to a gutsy win.  It wasn’t pretty, and the Bills aren’t an impressive team, but they do have a legitimate defense and Sam Darnold made all the right plays when he needed to.

Whether it be the multiple great throws to Robby Anderson, the moving up in the pocket to avoid the Buffalo pass rush, or the touchdown in the third quarter, Sam Darnold looked poised out there.  He’s not going to light the world on fire this season.  He is not Baker Mayfield, because Baker Mayfield has plenty of weapons around him.

Darnold has been playing all season with a defensive minded coach, a terrible offensive coordinator, practically zero weapons and all the pressure in the world to succeed.  He’s had a foot injury and has been out the past few weeks, but he gutted this game out and won the respect of his teammates with this game.

Darnold is going to have plenty of growing pains throughout the year but as long as he’s taking incremental steps he’s on the right track.  A step like this is imperative to his development.  It doesn’t matter that Todd Bowles will be fired at the end of the season.  It doesn’t matter that the Jets actually are putting themselves in a worse position by winning this game.  All that matters is Darnold’s development.

When it comes down to it, no one really knows if Sam Darnold will wind up being the best quarterback in a loaded draft class.  What we do know is that he is immensely talented, has the moxie to succeed in New York, and with each game is looking more comfortable.  Be patient Jets fans, you got a good one.