MetLife Stadium has not been kind to Sam Darnold.
The former Jets and current Panthers quarterback returned to his old home stadium Sunday and was benched during Carolina’s loss to the Giants. Darnold went 16-25 passing for 111 yards and an interception before Matt Rhule replaced him with P.J. Walker in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers lost, 25-3.
After a solid 3-0 start to his Panthers career, Darnold regressed to his Jets form over the past four games. He’s completed just 52.8 percent of his passes for 796 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions during a four-game losing streak. Darnold now has an abysmal 8-12 record at MetLife Stadium since entering the league in 2018.
“I think when you get to that point of getting pulled, I just internalize it, and honestly it’s one of those situations where it is what it is,” Darnold said of being benched. “[Rhule] thought at the time that would provide a spark, putting P.J. in there. So it was his decision and he went with it.”
This is the absolute worst-case scenario for the Panthers after trading three draft picks, including second- and fourth-round picks in 2022. They also picked up Darnold’s fifth-year option. Now Darnold looks exactly like he did when he played for the Jets, even though he has more weapons on offense.
Rumors will continue to swirl around the Panthers and Darnold for the rest of the season, as some have even wondered if Carolina might look at trading for Deshaun Watson despite the quarterback’s numerous sexual assault allegations. However, Rhule shut down any notions that the Panthers wouldn’t start Darnold next week despite his poor performances recently.
“Sam will be our quarterback next week. He will be our quarterback moving forward,” Rhule said after the game. “I believe Sam is going to be a great quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and I haven’t done any work on anyone else. He’s my focus, and I expect him to play his best football moving forward.”
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