When we one day chronicle The Life and Times of Sam Darnold, if all goes as planned, there will be a watershed moment in his career trajectory when he begins beating the elite teams.
He isn’t there yet, nor should we expect him to be.
It’s been a feel-good story, young Darnold winning the job as one of our Boys of Summer along with Saquon Barkley, doing phenom things and providing hope that maybe, finally, there will be Life After Joe Namath, five Jets decades later.
But only seven games into his NFL career, Darnold can’t do this by himself.
Nor should anyone expect him to.
He needs more help.
Only he may have to Wait ’Til Next Year to get it:
Playmakers: Kirk Cousins showed up at MetLife Stadium with Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph. Darnold does not have a No. 1 receiver — Quincy Enunwa was sidelined; Jermaine Kearse catches nine passes one week and none the next; Robby Anderson was flinging a football at one of the zebras; Charone Peake’s drop resulted in Darnold’s third interception; and Terrelle Pryor is out of sight, if not out of mind. Tight end Chris Herndon looks like a keeper, but he’s a rookie, and tight end Eric Tomlinson had a bad drop against the Vikings.
In the backfield, Isaiah Crowell’s 219-yard explosion against the Broncos was an aberration. He is no Le’Veon Bell. Darnold has completed a combined 25 passes for 254 yards to Crowell, Bilal Powell and rookie Trenton Cannon. Barkley had 40 catches for 373 entering Monday night against the Falcons.
Pass rushers: Every team could use a Khalil Mack, few more than the Jets, who have 15 sacks and have been unsuccessful in their search for an edge rusher. It’s to their credit they’ve gotten 15 takeaways.
No Jack City: Free-agent, $72.5 million prize cornerback Trumaine Johnson (quad) has missed the past three games and struggled early. Safety Marcus Maye has played in just three games and will miss several more (thumb). Cornerback Buster Skrine (concussion) has missed the past two games.
Maturity: The Jets can still give us “Romper Room” moments and have not yet learned how to win. Darron Lee and Parry Nickerson should have jumped on what they failed to recognize as a backward-pass fumble by Cousins.
“We gotta play all the way through. Obviously we can’t relax,” Todd Bowles said.
Coach: Bowles should have called timeout at the end of the first half following a 7-yard Diggs catch on third-and-11 to give Darnold more time to operate.
“We’re good with our decision,” he said.
He’ll be on the clock with clock management like this.
With two games ahead against Tom Brady and the Patriots, one against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers and one next Sunday on the road against Mack and the Bears, the Jets are in danger of shaping up as a cruel tease for those long-suffering fans who long for this season somehow to be about more than the development of their long-lost rookie franchise quarterback.
“Our team has to be better,” Bowles said. “It’s not about just Sam, it’s about us coaching better, it’s about us playing better in all three phases.”
At 3-4, the Jets are not unlike the double-digit field of Jekyll-and-Hyde mediocrities that litter the NFL.
They are who we thought they were.
If they want to be who they like to think they are, they better not be expecting Darnold to carry a playoff drive on his shoulders while experiencing predictable growing pains.
The Vikings reminded us that this won’t be any innocent climb for Darnold or for the Jets on those occasions when the big boys stand in their way.
Against the Jaguars and Vikings, Darnold went 34-for-76 with two touchdowns and three interceptions. His ground game (38 carries for 105 yards) was grounded.
Darnold and Jamal Adams and the Jets do not discourage easily. They will have other opportunities to make a loud statement about who they believe they are. But until Darnold gets more help, the burden of proof is still on them when they try to step up in class — because after all, you are what your record says you are.
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