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DETROIT – New York Jets rookie Sam Darnold made history on Monday night, becoming the youngest quartermber in the opening game of the season.
It took him a piece to do more history – the wrong guy – before a tremendous turnaround.
During his first stint in the NFL, Darnold launched a pick-six, misguided interception that was returned to him 37 yards for a touchdown by Detroit Lions security Quandre Diggs. Darnold joined Jameis Winston (2015) and Brett Favre (1991) as the only quarterback in the last 27 years, whose first career attempt was intercepted for a touchdown.
Darnold, 21 years and 97 days, grew quickly on the national scene, leading the Jets to a 48-17 victory over Ford Field. They set a franchise record for most points scored in a road match. He became the first quarter since Tom Brady in 2001 to earn at least 31 points in his first career start.
"He did not flinch.He did not even blink," coach Todd Bowles said about Darnold's first mistake. "I could sit here and tell you that we had planned it to get the nervousness out, but we did not do it."
Darnold completed 16 of 21 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, but the most significant figure is that he had only four incomplete passes after choosing six, which proves that the Jets managed recruit in third place.
Subsequently, the Darnold press conference began with a question about interception.
"Thank you for raising this issue, I really appreciate it," he said with a smile.
Darnold admitted that he was "very nervous" at the beginning of the match, adding that he "licked his chops a bit too much" as the play unfolded.
"But after that, I put it behind me," he said. "The crowd became very noisy after that and it was just" Oh, shoot "and then I thought," OK, let's go. We can not be much worse than that. "
The former star of the USC had a lot of help, while the Jets intercepted five assists and scored on offensive, defensive and special teams for the first time since the first game of 2012.
Oddly enough, quarterback back up Josh McCown said the first choice was the turning point.
"It galvanized our team," he said.
In what was announced as the first quarterback game since Joe Namath in 1965, Darnold gave a sense of discomfort to long-time fans of the Jets. He made a mistake as a rookie.
At one game action, he rolled right and threw left, while the piece was designed. He tried to hit the bearer Bilal Powell on a deep wheel road to the sideline. Diggs set the trap and Darnold, thinking that Powell was clear, took the cheese. Offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates made a bold call to the game, but the coaches wanted to trust Darnold and send a message to the Lions. He returned in the worst possible way.
For months, the Jets praised Darnold's balance and mental strength, claiming that these traits would serve him well when adversity would occur. They never imagined it would happen at the first game of his career.
To his credit, Darnold regained his composure and led the Jets to 17 unanswered points. He finished the first half by completing 11 of his 14 subsequent passes. The Jets took the lead at half-time, 17-10, and they blew it up in the second half scoring 21 points in the space of 2 minutes 36 seconds in a third quarter. 31 points.
They scored on a return of interception by Darron Lee, their first defensive touch since 2013 (a 73-game drought) and a 78-yard punt return by Andre Roberts. The last time they scored in return for a kickoff or a sendoff 2012.
The Jets dismantled the Lions in each phase, but the night was reserved for Darnold, who threw two long touchdowns – 41 yards to Robby Anderson and 21 yards to Quincy Enunwa. On the Anderson game, Darnold used a fake shoulder to freeze deep security, giving his receiver a step.
Darnold was cold under pressure, completing several clutch passes in third place. His biggest start of the night came in the first quarter, when he was thrown out of pocket in third and seventh place and made an unbalanced pass to Enunwa for eight yards. At the next game, Isaiah Crowell scored on a 6-yard run. In the third quarter, Crowell scored again, a 62-yard run.
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