NFL: Jets and Sam Darnold have proved doubters wrong with positive start to season
The New York Jets are 3-3, and the whole league is shocked. It was widely believed before the season that the Jets would start 0-4, and then Sam Darnold will get some experience for the rest of the season.
The only part of this assumption that came true is how Sam Darnold is starting at quarterback, but this decision was made before the season began. Darnold was known to turn the ball over a lot at USC, even when he had his best college seasons. The first throw of the season, Darnold threw a pick-six to the Lions, and it looked like everything was headed for the gutter. This assumption was wrong and Sam Darnold and the Jets rallied after the pick six to rout the Detroit Lions 48 to 17.
In the next week, the Jets lost to the Dolphins and did not look good at home. The issue was with the quarterback play, in which Darnold was trying to thread the needle too many times, and it led to two interceptions and only one touchdown. The worst part is that one of those picks was thrown directly into a Dolphins player's hands in the end zone, so it was a wasted red zone scoring opportunity.
This led the Jets to feel much worse about the position they put Darnold in, but they made sure to keep their head up for the next game against the Cleveland Browns. They ended up losing the game to the Browns in a close contest that featured Baker Mayfield coming in at halftime to rally the Browns to victory.
After the next three weeks and coming off of the victory against the Colts last weekend, the Jets are doing better than everyone expected and have rallied to a 3-3 record on the season. A lot of experts were predicting the Jets to be last in the NFL due to below average quarterback play, but the defense has paved the way to success.
Jamal Adams and Leonard Williams have led the way for a stout Jets defense that likes to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. This formula has worked, as shown by the number of turnovers forced and the number of incompletions by the opposing quarterback. No matter what people believed coming into the season, the Jets are 3-3, and making some noise in the AFC East. Right now, they are an outside shot to even make the playoffs.