Monday Night Football between the New England Patriots and New York Jets wasn’t great television. However, Sam Darnold provided some theatric entertainment for the fans who left on the 33-0 blowout, ending in a Patriots victory.
Furthermore – captured on a mic’d up ESPN microphone – Darnold said something funny. While it isn’t know if he meant to be humorous, he said he was ‘seeing ghosts’ following his third interception. Thanks to twitter, we have video of this in case you missed it.
Well yeah Darnold is seeing ghosts. Zero blitz early will do that, now he's just looking to unload and NOT make a mistake – oops another mistake
He's 22 *shrug*https://t.co/stBxI6OuLF— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) October 22, 2019
Certainly, Darnold was dreadful. When we last heard from him, he said he feared an early return from mononucleosis with a swollen spleen. Now on Monday Night Football, he was seeing ghosts in the form of a New England defense that is putting the league on notice.
Undeniably, this was the worst game of Darnold’s collegiate or pro career. This is evidenced by his five turnovers, the first time he did such in a game at either level. Altogether, it was one Darnold will have trouble living down. This is from the ESPN article:
Statistically, it was one of the worst passing days in Jets history. Darnold finished with a 3.6 passer rating; the worst is 2.7, set by J.J. Jones in 1975 (minimum 20 attempts).
In all, Darnold completed only 11 of 30 passes for 86 yards. Certainly this isn’t the first time Bill Belichick caused chaos for a young signal-caller, and it won’t be the last. Still, all fans should pause after declaring Darnold a finished product; even after beating the Cowboys handily at home in his return last week.
Finally, we say it often. The NFL is such a week-to-week business when it comes to players especially. For instance, one week a player could look like an MVP candidate and get praise in league circles as one of the elite. Next, he’s seeing ghosts. Especially when it comes to quarterbacks, it’s always a cast of stock up or down and it rarely flatlines.
Perhaps Darnold goes on to become a fine quarterback. But he will never forget the night Belichick and the Patriots made him see ghosts about a week out from Halloween 2019.
