After an eventful collegiate campaign, New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold had high expectations set on his career in the big leagues. He had his fair share of struggles in recent years and his 2020 campaign started on the wrong foot yet again. He failed to steer the Jets' offense this time around as his team took a 27-17 beating from the Buffalo Bills.

Darnold had 215 passing yards on 21 of 35 passes completed along with a scored touchdown and an interception. To make matters worst, their top scoring option in running back Le'Veon Bell also left the game with an apparent hamstring injury. The Jets' gunslinger was eventually outplayed by his counterpart in Josh Allen who had a better outing and led his team to grab their first win of the season.

In his third year with the Jets, Darnold has led the team to an 11-16 overall record which failed to power them through the playoffs in recent seasons. He has received a fair share of criticism including one from former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi who wrote an article about the 23-year old's play on the field for The Athletic:

“Joe Douglas (has) watched his young quarterback Sam Darnold continue down the all-too- familiar path of not being able to protect the ball, not always being pinpoint accurate, and, most of all, not playing the game smartly. Darnold’s decision-making has to worry Douglas, as it never seems to improve.”

He also noted that the Jets' shallow depth on the offensive side of the ball all the more exposed Darnold's weaknesses:

“The fact is the Jets offense is not highly skilled or highly diverse in how they attack the opponent. They don’t have many playmakers to make explosive plays, and when the play breaks down, Darnold becomes a poor decision-maker who lacks accuracy.”

The third-year playmaker was not fully to blame as he can only do so much with a lack of potent weapons around him. Fortunately for Darnold, he still has 15 games left in the season to prove that he is indeed the right man for the job.

All eyes will be on him as he aims to steal a victory against the contending San Francisco 49ers on September 20.