DETROIT _ No sane person associated with the Jets would have wished Sam Darnold's first play on him. But in an odd, upside-down, Jets-ian way, it might have been the best thing that happened to him on Monday night.
After months of hype, the rookie quarterback finally made his NFL debut against the Lions at Ford Field and on national, prime-time TV, and on his first play was intercepted by Quandre Diggs, who returned the ball 37 yards for a touchdown.
To call it shocking would be a vast understatement. It was unfathomable. His parents were there. His old buddies at Southern Cal were watching back home. The fortunes of an entire NFL franchise rested on his shoulder pads.
Then, boom: an unwise throw across the field aimed at Bilal Powell, easily picked off by Diggs, and it was 7-0 after 20 seconds. Soon Darnold was the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter _ in the entire world.
That was when things got interesting.
Darnold has been praised far and wide for his maturity and unflappability. How better to prove that then after diving into his professional career with a spectacular, embarrassing belly flop?
And that he did, reassuring fans and more importantly teammates that the kid is all right, sending a loud message in a 48-17 Jets rout that also featured their first defensive touchdown since 2013 and first punt return for a TD since 2012.
On his second possession, Darnold recorded his first completion to his own team, waiting patiently in the pocket before converting a third-and-6 play to Neal Sterling _ future trivia question alert! _ for 12 yards.
On his third possession, he bought time with his legs on a third-and-7 from the Detroit 14, found Quincy Enunwa for a first down at the 6 and set up Isaiah Crowell's touchdown run.
On his fourth possession, he rushed for six yards on a designed run on third-and-2, a drive that ended with a field goal that put the Jets ahead, 10-7.
On his fifth possession, he hit Enunwa for an 11-yard gain on a third-and-6.
On his sixth possession, he faced a third-and-2 at the Detroit 41-yard line. Given plenty of time by blockers, he gave a slight shoulder fake, then threw the ball into the left front portion of the end zone.
Robby Anderson tore it away from safety Tavon Wilson with 1:51 left in the first half. It was Darnold's first career touchdown pass. Make a note of that.
After the Lions tied it at 17 to start the second half, Darnold marched the Jets right back, capped by a 21-yard touchdown play on which he hit Enunwa with a short pass and Enunwa made a long run. Darnold was 3-for-3 on the drive.
Darnold finished the night 16-for-21 for 198 yards, with a passer rating of 116.8.
All of this was going on in the din of Ford Field, where early cheers turned to boos for the Lions, whose Matthew Stafford looked like the rookie quarterback. And it happened with veteran Jets receiver Jermaine Kearse out with an injury.
None of this is to say Darnold is the answer to Jets fans' prayers. For now, all we know is that he faced a challenge, responded to it and passed his first regular-season test.
The verdict on the Jets' faith in him will not be delivered for months, or more likely years.
Brett Favre's first NFL pass, as a Falcon in 1991, was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He managed to recover from that and fashion a decent NFL career.
Will Darnold do the same? We shall see. But his terrible first play turned out not to be a bad start at all.
