Rookie quarterback Sam Darnold led the New York Jets to a dominating 48-17 win over the Detroit Lions in his NFL debut. Darnold had an unspectacular but decent line as he went 16-of-21 for 198 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.
After the game, Darnold thought that while he still felt he needed to get a better rhythm with his receivers, he had a fairly solid performance overall in his first game as a pro.
“I hate to say it but those types of things are going to happen in the first game, just starting to get a rhythm with the guys,” Darnold said per Michael David Smith of PFT. “Other than that, I thought I played pretty well.”
Darnold was able to bounce back from the huge miscue of throwing a pick-six in his first ever NFL pass. He readily owned up to that big mistake but was able to quickly put it behind him.
“Right when I let it go I thought I had him, then right when I released it I saw the defender and thought, ‘Oh, shoot,'” Darnold said. “On the interception I was pretty nervous, but after that I put it behind me.”
All in all, the Jets have to like what they saw from their rookie quarterback in his first-ever start. While he wasn’t exactly spectacular, he didn’t need to be. And aside from the one major mistake he made on his first play, he was generally solid.
Darnold’s ability to recover from that early miscue should also fill the Jets with confidence. It shows the type of mental strength he has even at a young age to soldier on after a mistake which would derail other inexperienced QBs.
Overall, Darnold’s assessment of his debut performance seems spot on, although he will obviously still be eager to improve upon it in the coming weeks.
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