Sam Darnold finished off his preseason with a touchdown pass Saturday night.
Now, he can focus on the games that count.
The second-year quarterback and the entire Jets offense had a bit of a ragged night, struggling against the Saints’ starters. But Darnold put together a solid touchdown drive against the backups to finish off his night in a 28-13 Jets loss at MetLife Stadium.
Darnold finished 8-of-13 for 97 yards and the touchdown pass. He will not play in the Jets’ final preseason game, against the Eagles on Thursday, so his next action will come Sept. 8 when they open the regular season against the Bills at MetLife Stadium.
It was a strong preseason for Darnold, whose final numbers were 17-of-25 for 211 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions for a rating of 120.6.
After the game, Darnold said he’s ready for the regular season.
“Definitely,” Darnold said. “I think our offense is antsy to get out there. Even for me sitting out the second half I kind of wanted to get in there and play. I didn’t like the way we played in the first quarter. The second quarter, we kind of found our rhythm and then we were out. I’m definitely curious to see how we would have responded and how we would have played that whole game. For me personally, I’m definitely antsy to get going.”
The 22-year-old has checked off all the boxes this summer as he begins his second season. He has shown a great grasp of new head coach Adam Gase’s offense, looks more confident than last year and has made very few mistakes in practice.
Though the Jets made major news this offseason by hiring Gase, hiring Joe Douglas as general manager, signing Le’Veon Bell and C.J. Mosley in free agency and drafting Quinnen Williams third overall, there is no question Darnold’s development is the biggest key to their season. After an encouraging finish to his rookie season, the Jets are counting on him to make a leap in his second year.
Darnold played five series against the Saints as Gase seemed to be waiting for the offense to have a successful drive before calling it a night for his quarterback.
That drive came early in the second quarter when Darnold piloted a seven-play, 65-yard drive. The highlight was a 41-yard pass down the sideline to Robby Anderson that put the Jets inside the Saints’ 20. He also hit Jamison Crowder, one of his favorite new targets, for an 8-yard gain.
The touchdown was a pretty touch 2-yard touch pass on a swing route to Ty Montgomery. After that play, Darnold’s night was over.
“Early I thought he had a couple good decisions and then there were a couple of decisions that we have to clean up,” Gase said. “The throw on the touchdown was really good. Sometimes he makes some of these throws and you’re not really sure how he completes them. I thought there was a lot of good out of tonight.”
Before that drive, the offense struggled and Darnold took some big hits that had to have Gase considering whether to pull his young star. Their first drive lasted just two plays and ended with a Montgomery fumble. Their next three drives all ended in punts.
“Offensively, we were not very good tonight,” Gase said. “We struggled, especially early. After the fumble, we lost our minds a little bit.
We finally gained some composure and had a good drive.”
The Jets’ defense got tested at the start of the game with Saints stars Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas showing they are in midseason form. Brees hit Kamara and Thomas for long gains, then hooked up with Thomas for a 19-yard touchdown on a pass that went over cornerback Tevaughn Campbell’s head.
Campbell is one of the Jets fighting for a roster spot at cornerback. He came out of the game after giving up the touchdown. Alex Brown replaced him in the lineup and got a lot of reps as the coaches and personnel staff evaluate what to do at the position, which is the biggest hole on the team.
The most encouraging development of the night for the Jets was kicker Taylor Bertolet making field goals of 48 and 56 yards and converting the one point after try he attempted. Bertolet missed two extra points last week in Atlanta, but he bounced back with a strong effort Saturday and bolstered his case to be the kicker when the season begins.
Three takeaways
1. Sam Darnold came out of the preseason healthy. Jets fans everywhere can exhale. He took some big hits Saturday night, but was able to throw a touchdown pass and, more importantly, stay healthy.
2. Taylor Bertolet passed the test, kicking field goals of 48 and 56 yards in the game. If he has another good game in Thursday’s preseason finale, the Jets should give him the job to start the season.
3. No one told Jamal Adams it was the preseason. He blew up Saints running back Dwayne Washington at the end of the first quarter. Adams looks ready for the regular season.