New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold had himself quite a debut. The rookie threw a pick-six with his first-ever pass attempt, but he eventually regrouped to help lead the Jets to a huge 48-17 win over the Detroit Lions. And in doing so, he joined Tom Brady in the record books.
Per ESPN Stats and Info, Darnold’s 31-point margin of victory was the most for a quarterback in his first career start since Brady began his illustrious career as the Patriots’ starter by beating a Peyton Manning-led Colts team by 31 points back in 2001.
Sam Darnold was the first QB to win by 31 points in his first career start since Tom Brady in Week 3 of 2001 against the Peyton Manning-led Colts. pic.twitter.com/rgfTD0wady
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 11, 2018
Darnold wasn’t all that amazing in his debut, but he was still significantly better than Brady in his first-ever start. The Jets rookie went 16 of 21 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Compare that to Brady, who went just 13 of 23 for 168 yards and no touchdowns in that game.
But despite the two quarterbacks’ underwhelming performances, both the Pats and Jets still ran away comfortable winners thanks to their respective defenses doing some damage. The Patriots D hit Manning up for two pick-sixes, while the Jets D, which apparently “knew everything” about the Lions offense, got Matthew Stafford for one pick-six in four interceptions.
Obviously, Darnold has a long way to go to match the other incredible records Brady has racked up over the course of his amazing career. But at least the Jets can take comfort in the fact that Darnold looked like the real deal against the Lions and could potentially be the franchise quarterback they've waited so long for.