Waking up on the morning of Oct. 22, 2019, needed to be completely pitiful for New York Jets followers.
One night time earlier, all they may do was watch as Jets quarterback Sam Darnold threw 4 interceptions and misplaced a fumble throughout a 33-0 loss to the New England Patriots on “Monday Night time Soccer.”
And if that wasn’t unhealthy sufficient, Darnold was caught saying, “I’m seeing ghosts,” whereas mic’d up in the course of the sport.
Yikes.
Practically 5 years have passed by since that iconic soundbite, and now it looks like we could be those watching one thing paranormal.
Darnold is definitely good at soccer now. Like, actually good. He was completely dialed in on Sunday, finishing 17 of 28 passes for 181 yards and 4 touchdowns because the Minnesota Vikings put collectively a 34-7 drubbing of the Houston Texans in Minneapolis.
Getting caught saying “I’m seeing ghosts” on primetime tv as an NFL quarterback ought to have been an on the spot profession killer. However Darnold continued, considerably, turning right into a little bit of a journeyman by spending time with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers following his New York days.
Then he signed with Minnesota, moving into the beginning function when No. 10 general choose J.J. McCarthy sustained a season-ending knee damage.
Darnold, 27, has thrived, throwing for 657 yards and eight TDs to assist the Vikings get off to a 3-0 begin to the season. He has been picked off twice.
Minnesota hasn’t even been at full power, as second-year extensive receiver Jordan Addison has missed the previous two video games because of an ankle damage. He performed simply 28 snaps in Week 1.
But there Darnold was on Sunday, tossing 4 landing passes towards a Houston crew that reached the playoffs final season and shouldn’t have any drawback getting again there this time round.
If time journey is actual, somebody must go go to the disgruntled 2019 Jets fan to inform them that heading into Week 3’s version of “Monday Night time Soccer” within the 2024 season, Darnold leads the NFL in passing touchdowns. It’s nearly simply as plausible as Darnold’s claims that ghosts had been pestering him on the gridiron.
Not that Darnold has wanted it, however he’s had an outstanding protection backing him by way of the primary three video games of the marketing campaign. Coming into Monday, the Vikings ranked second in the complete league in scoring protection with simply 10.0 factors allowed per contest.
A giant problem comes on Oct. 6, although. Darnold can be going up towards the Jets, and so long as the spirits don’t journey with New York from East Rutherford, N.J., he ought to be capable to assist Minnesota no less than be aggressive.
We shouldn’t take Sunday’s efficiency towards the Texans without any consideration. In any case, that is nonetheless Sam Darnold we’re speaking about. Two good video games and one nice one shouldn’t wipe six years of mediocrity from our reminiscence. Issues may change at any second.
However for now, soak all of it in. It’s possible solely a matter of time earlier than these ghosts come again.
