After weeks of seeing ghosts and spending the majority of his time either on his back or running for his life, it looks like Sam Darnold is finally back on track.
Darnold has reverted back to his end of 2018 form for New York the last two weeks, throwing for a combined 523 yards, seven touchdowns and only one interception. The USC product tossed a career-high four touchdowns against the Redskins and was on point all game in a dominant 34-17 win over Washington.
Forget about the stats for a second. Darnold has looked worlds better the past two weeks, displaying the pocket presence and poise that gave Jets fans hope that he would be the team’s franchise quarterback moving forward.
With those traits reemerging, it’s certainly possible that Darnold is back and fully recovered from a three-game stretch in which he struggled mightily. However, it’s worth taking into account the level of competition Darnold has gone up against the past couple of weeks.
The Giants and the Redskins aren’t exactly elite defensive teams. New York’s defense is among the worst in the league, ranking 25th against the pass. Washington’s unit has battled inconsistency, a lack of pass rush and questionable playcalling all year long.
The Giants failed to generate much of a pass rush against a sputtering Jets offensive line, which allowed Darnold to sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary. He did the same against Washington, as the Redskins registered only two sacks in Week 11.
Factor in both teams’ personnel in the secondary and it’s no wonder Darnold has posted the numbers he has with all day to throw the ball. Weaker secondaries have afforded New York’s receivers more freedom to get open — an issue that has plagued the unit throughout 2019. Ryan Griffin isn’t burning a secondary for five catches, 109 yards and a touchdown on a weekly basis. That’s a product of going up against a struggling Redskins secondary. The same goes for Jamison Crowder’s standout performance against the Giants in Week 10, even though he has been nothing but solid for the Jets this season.
This isn’t to discredit what Darnold has accomplished the past couple of weeks. He has made numerous impressive throws and his decision making has drastically improved compared to the head-scratching mistakes he made with regularity earlier in the season. These are all major and much-needed strides in his development, which had seemingly taken a turn for the worst.
With that being said, it wouldn’t be a full evaluation if the competition wasn’t taken into account. If Darnold was dominating the elite defenses in the league, there would be no hesitation to acknowledge that he is trending in the right direction. He’ll have his chance to accomplish that at some point, but right now, he’s tasked with playing through the “soft” part of New York’s schedule.
Is Darnold’s recent hot streak a sign of things to come? That remains to be seen. Either way, don’t get too carried away with what the USC product has accomplished the past two weeks just yet. Let’s see what happens when Gang Green’s strength of schedule picks up before jumping to any conclusions.