Sam Darnold's highlight reel from the Jets' dominating win over the Raiders includes passes bouncing off a teammate's derriere on the sideline and thrown directly into the ground. For all the incredible throws that Darnold has made in his first two seasons, sometimes the best ones are the ones that gain exactly zero yards.
Every play doesn't need to be magical. Smart can be boring.
The education of a young quarterback requires constant self-evaluation and smart coaching. The 22-year-old quarterback has a penchant for making spectacular passes from unconventional platforms. He has a gift from the football Gods that he will surely cultivate.
In the meantime, Darnold is finding a risk-reward balance that includes the boring act of throwing the ball away.
One week after the signal caller was noticeably perturbed for trying to make chicken salad out of chicken-you-know-what on a failed screen that resulted in an interception, he made a litany of wise choices, opting not to force the issue against Oakland.
So, he threw the ball away or used his legs to pick up yards.
"He keeps growing and growing," Le'Veon Bell said. "I keep continuing to (praise) Sam because I've never really played with a younger (quarterback). It's amazing seeing him grow each and every week, each and every day, every rep. A lot of plays when he's running out of the pocket, he didn't force anything. He was just getting rid of the ball and throwing it out of bounds if someone wasn't there. That's growth."
The most impressive part of Darnold's decision to throw the ball away to help the Jets win their third consecutive game: It goes against every instinct he has as a competitor.
After all, part of Darnold's promise lies in finding magic after the play breaks down. He has an uncanny ability to make some something out of nothing. The trick, of course, is knowing when you have lost on a given play. Too many young quarterbacks compound the problem by making a low-percentage throw rather than live to fight another play.
Darnold has admittedly fallen into that trap, but he's smart enough not to be buried by it. So, he's learning from past mistakes and listening to Adam Gase and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains' daily reminders.
"He understands that I got another down to go here, where I can make something happen," Gase said. "Or if it's a third down, understanding, 'Hey, there's points here. I know it's not ideal. I know we're not getting seven. But three will be good... and then we'll get the ball again and try to get seven.'"
"Really scoring points on each drive that's really part of the plan," Gase continued. "I feel like he's making the right decisions when it comes to those areas. I do think it's been good too when he's pulled the ball down and run and gotten positive yards on first and second downs. That was also a good thing to see."
Darnold delivered plenty of memorable moments like his incredible throw on the move to Robby Anderson that you could watch on a loop and still not quite figure out how he dropped it between the cornerback and safety for a 31-yard pickup.
But he made three heady choices in the second quarter that likely went unnoticed.
On first down from midfield, Darnold was flushed out of the pocket to the right before he sailed a ball that plunked off Jamal Adams' posterior on the sideline. No word whether Darnold apologized to his teammate, but it was the exact right play.
Five plays later on third-and-15 from the Oakland 17, Darnold threw it out of bounds again when there was no play to be made. He recognized that the Jets were already in field-goal range, so he eschewed trying to be a hero. The Jets got three points on the drive.
"We always say, 'Know your outs,' " Gase said. "I think there was a couple times where his out wasn't there and the throwaway was the right throw. I think Dowell's done a great job with going through (them). When we're going through progressions... it's like, 'Hey, if these kinds of things happen, the throw-away is the right play here.' I think that constant reinforcement between Dowell and myself and then him talking to us and doing a good job of being like, 'This is a throwaway, isn't it?' Just that constant knowing when the play was probably over for him."
On the next drive, Darnold quickly threw the ball straight into the turf on third and 15 when Dion Jordan sniffed out a screen pass designed for Bell. Although Sam Ficken missed the ensuing field goal try, Darnold made the smart decision by recognizing that his team was already in field-goal range. Waving the white flag sometimes makes the most sense.
"Dowell and Coach Gase (are) going through some stuff with me and just kind of making sure I keep thinking about it throughout the week," Darnold said. "Even in practice, if I do it every now and then, it's a good little reminder. They're really good at reminding me about that kind of stuff. I do think that the more reps that you get, the more experience you get especially on first and second downs. Even third downs sometimes, a throw-away is a good play. But I have Dowell and Coach Gase to thank to continue to hammer that home throughout the week."
Those three incompletions in the second quarter were likely forgotten by fans seconds after they happened, but the Jets know that they were important steps in Darnold's development. They mattered.
Sometimes the boring play is the right one.
