What if?
What if Sam Darnold plays in these two final games as he did on Sunday in Los Angeles?
What if the Jets robbed by the third-year quarterback are as safe and decisive as they were in the shocking 23-20 victory over the Rams?
What if Darnold throws 300 yards and three touchdowns and doesn’t turn the ball around and the Jets beat the Browns 10-4 in their home final Sunday at MetLife Stadium?
What if he goes to Foxborough, Massachusetts next week for the end of the season and makes Bill Belichick’s Patriots defense see ghosts?
What if Darnold’s resume for 2020 is limited by three consecutive winning performances – even if they came at the end of an otherwise miserable 3-13 season?
It would have been three meaningless victories for the Jets, but would it be Darnold’s pointless performance?
Before Rams got upset, the assumption was that the Jets were destined to finish 0-16, to secure the No. 1 preliminary pick and the chance to pick Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
With Lawrence, the alleged “generational talent” looking ahead in April, there would be few decisions for the Jets about what to do with Darnold. They would move on. Darnold would have traded for anything the Jets could get for a three-year-old defender with a record 12-24 and 44 turnovers.
But what happens now?
Except for an unexpected stumble in the next two games (against the Bears and Colts) by the 1-13 Jaguars, who by virtue of the Jets win in LA and Jacksonville by holding the tiebreaker for No. 1 because of the strength of the program, they will take Lawrence.
Now, the Jets have to ask themselves this question once this season is over: I’m better off building around Darnold (who they’ve done a poor job with in the last three years) or rolling the dice on a college defender who doesn’t Is his name Trevor? Lawrence?
Justin Fields, of the state of Ohio, seemed accustomed on Saturday against Northwestern, giving up his actions. BYU’s Zach Wilson showed dynamism in a pointless bowl game against a UCF pedestrian team on Tuesday night. Is Kyle Trask of Florida the answer? Trey Lance from North Dakota?
What if Darnold shines on Sunday and the next?
Does this change the narrative or will it simply be rejected as garbage time?
Remember that the Jets finished last season 6-2 after a 1-7 start. What did it turn out to be with the start of the 2020 season? The gold of the fool.
“Every game is important for evaluation in the NFL,” former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said Wednesday. “Look, they will have to make some important decisions in the off-season – especially starting with the quarterback. The big question a lot of people will have about Sam is turnover. Right now, Sam has 44 turnovers since he was in the NFL. He is the sixth highest quarterback of that period.
“He’s no different from Daniel Jones,” Tannenbaum continued, referring to second-year Giants quarterback with turnover issues. “When those young defenders don’t turn the ball around, they both give their teams a reasonable chance to win. I’ve seen this constantly for both teams. “
Strange statistic about Darnold, though: Of his 36 career starts in 14, he didn’t intercept, the Jets are only 3-11.
This is the result of too many bad teams around Darnold and raises the question: Did the Jets fail Darnold more than Darnold failed the Jets?
The answer to this question is: Yes.
However, this does not exonerate Darnold from the fact that he was not special, he did not raise the players around him as it should be a general choice no.
On Sunday in Los Angeles, Darnold did that, though. His quick and correct decision-making was the difference in the game. Was it a moment in the pan, a moment on the radar? Or a sign that he is beginning to realize?
“I thought Sam looked really good on Sunday against the Rams,” Tannenbaum said. “It was decisive and fair. It was a very encouraging performance. “
It was only the fifth game of the season that he had all the best receivers – Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims – on the field with him at the same time.
Head coach Adam Gase was asked Wednesday what the “next step” for Darnold is.
“Keep playing games like that,” Gase said, referring to the Rams game.
Asked why, after three years of career, he has not yet clicked for Darnold, Gase said: “It has a bit to do with who is around him and the consistency there. Watch some of these defenders play with the same receivers, play with the same skill boys. That would be a good start for him – to have some consistency with the list. “
The question, of course, is what list will Darnold be in 2021?