While Washington’s rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins was struggling to get anything going on offense Sunday against the New York Jets, there was a QB standing on the opposite sideline that knew just what he was going through.
Sam Darnold has had a frustrating start to his career as well. After being drafted by the Jets with the No. 3 overall pick in 2018, Darnold went 4-9 in his rookie year, and an illness sidelined him for several weeks this season as well. In his NFL career, he has thrown for 28 touchdowns and 25 interceptions, and he is 7-13 in that span. If anyone were to understand the pain that Haskins is feeling, it’s Darnold.
“I just told him after the game to keep his head up,” Darnold said, via The New York Post. “No matter what people say, the doubters, people who are going to say anything bad about him, I just said, ‘Walk it out, man. Just continue to go to work. And if you go to work every single day, it’ll be all right.'”
After the game had long been decided, Haskins found the endzone a couple of times to notch his first career touchdowns, but the performance was poor when it mattered the most. Losing is a familiar feeling for rookie quarterbacks, and Haskins is not the first, nor will he be the last to experience that frustration that comes with it. Sam Darnold knows better than anyone.
[vertical-gallery id=25275]