New York Jets: It's Too Early to Say Sam Darnold Is the Next Great Thing

The New York Jets kicked off their 2018 season on Monday night in Detroit. In what many are considering the biggest surprise of week 1, the Jets defeated the Detroit Lions by the score 48-17. The offense, defense, and special teams played well. By the Jets playing well, the Lions were never able to get into a rhythm. Obviously, the biggest story in this game was the play of Jets quarterback, Sam Darnold. In fact, he had decent numbers for a rookie and after he threw the early interception, he was able to find his mojo.

However, there are certain members of the New York Jets fan base who are already anointing him. Hence, they are saying that he will be the franchise QB for the next 12 years. Yes, that may all be the case eventually. But, after one win that is a bit early. Nevertheless, he showed that he can be at the top in the future. If you look at the smaller numbers, Darnold had an ok game for a rookie making his debut. Personally, I wasn’t expecting great numbers from him in his first game.

The win in Detroit should be credited more for the defense. When you can pick off the other quarterback five times, you are giving your offense more shots. This isn’t the first time the New York Jets thought they had their next franchise QB. The same comments were made when Mark Sanchez was on this team. How well did that end up working out?

If you look ahead, the New York Jets have more opportunities to help build the case for Sam Darnold being the next Joe Namath. They play the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns over the next two weeks. Both teams don’t have dominating defenses. In my opinion, the Jacksonville Jaguars game in Week 4 will be the true test for Sam Darnold. They had a top five defense and put pressure on the QB. If they can beat the Jaguars, then you can start making the case. However, you can’t make the case now.

How do you feel about Sam Darnold being the next great QB for the New York Jets? Leave a comment below.

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