Darnold lifts Gang with gritty effort
Gritty, not pretty. It might not have been the jawdropping performance many dreamed of when the Jets selected Sam Darnold third-overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, but the signalcaller did just enough as Gang Green scraped by the Steelers 16-10 on Sunday.
That was perhaps best represented midway through the third quarter, with the Jets leading 13-10. Struggling to run the ball all afternoon — Le’Veon Bell rushed for 72 yards on a season-high 25 carries against his former team — Darnold came out firing. He completed a 14yard pass to Vyncint Smith before finding Jamison Crowder open for 20 yards, bringing the Jets into Pittsburgh territory. The drive stalled after a couple of runs from Bell, but the Jets extended their lead to 16-10 with a 42-yard field goal from Sam Ficken.
It didn’t make anyone’s jaw drop, but it got the job done and gave the Jets some badly needed points on a hard-fought afternoon.
“It was a dogfight,” Darnold said. “It was fun though. It’s always fun to play those guys. [The Steelers have] a tough defense to play. I thought everyone played well on offense. Again, the defense stepped up. But it was a dogfight and we knew that coming in and we did our job. We did what we needed to do to get a win.”
Pittsburgh’s defense came into the game ranked second in takeaways, third in yards allowed and fifth in points per game allowed, wielding a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in linebacker T.J. Watt. The unit’s dominance has carried the team to playoff contention despite meager quarterback play.
After he hit Robby Anderson for an opening-drive 23-yard touchdown pass, Darnold and the Jets offense did little the rest of the way, adding three field goals to their tally. Darnold went 16-for-26 for 183 yards and a touchdown.
It won’t make any highlight reels, but Darnold did what the Jets need him to do most: win. Against one of the league’s best defenses, he did enough to do just that by taking care of the ball and playing smart. The Jets have now won five of their last seven and are starting to look more like the team they expected to be before the season.
“There are definitely some bright spots that we can continue to work on this offseason,” Darnold said. “We’re not too far away but I think we’ve just got to continue to press to be more consistent.”