Darnold revives Jets
Impact of 2nd-year QB clear after win over the Cowboys
Sam Darnold’s presence alone gave the New York Jets an immediate lift.
From the loud ovation the second-year quarterback received during pregame introductions to the smiles on the sideline, the impact of his return was clear.
Then, he took the field. “Him coming back gave the team, our offense, a new life,” wide receiver Robby Anderson said during a conference call Monday. “He’s our starting quarterback and he brings a lot of upside, and there’s a lot in store with him.”
Darnold showed no signs of rust in a 24-22 victory over Dallas on Sunday after missing three games while recovering from mononucleosis. He was 23-for-32 for 338 yards and two touchdowns — a 92-yarder to Anderson and a 5-yarder to Ryan Griffin — and an interception.
The Jets put up 382 yards of total offense against the Cowboys after getting 233 combined in the past two games with practice squad player-turned-starter Luke Falk at quarterback.
It all resulted in New York’s first win of the season, and first under coach Adam Gase.
“We’ve got to just continue to work out the details,” Darnold said of the offense. “Obviously, we got the win, which was awesome. Our defense played great. We played good at times, but there’s a lot of things we can clean up.
“I think we left a lot of points on the field.”
Still, it was a huge positive step for the Jets — particularly the offense.
It was also proof that New York isn’t exactly the bunch that people were making fun of the past three games during losses to Cleveland, New England and Philadelphia.
“We’ve got to build off each week, good or bad,” Gase said. “Those three weeks where Sam was out, those were some tough learning experiences for us. ... We really didn’t give ourselves much of a chance.”
Giants: tight end evan engram was optimistic monday about playing Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at metlife Stadium, and there is a chance 2018 nfl offensive rookie of Year Saquon Barkley also will be back. engram, who is having a breakout season, missed thursday night’s 35-14 loss to the Patriots with a knee injury. Barkley has missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain suffered against the Buccaneers on Sept. 15. the status of top receiver Sterling Shepard is uncertain. He missed the Patriots game with his second concussion this season. He took part in individual drills monday, but coach Pat Shurmur refused to talk about his status. one sign that Shepard may be out a little longer was new York signing veteran receiver Bennie fowler, who was cut before the game against the Vikings. Shepard was hurt in that contest. Patriots: Placed fullback Jakob Johnson on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Johnson was injured during new england’s 35-14 win over the Giants on thursday. the 24-year-old appeared in four games with three starts. He caught one pass for 5 yards after being elevated from the practice squad when starter James develin went on injured reserve with a neck injury. Johnson, who is originally from Germany and played his college ball at tennessee, signed with new england as a free agent in April.