Sam Darnold can add check to development bucket list vs. Bills
It might be a controversial holiday song, but “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” will be Sam Darnold’s reality Sunday, when he’s expected to return to the starting lineup at Buffalo.
The forecast for the 1 p.m. game calls for temperatures to top out at 32 degrees with winds up to 15 mph. It might as well be the frozen tundra for the rookie from California, who figures to make his first start since injuring his foot in a 20-12 loss to the Dolphins on Nov. 4.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles remained noncommittal Thursday about whether Darnold would play. But the starter of the first nine games of the season practiced fully for the second straight day and, barring a setback, should be physically ready for the Bills. Whether he’s ready for the Buffalo weather is another thing.
The Jets could be headed to a three-win season or they could finish by winning their last four games (stop laughing), but the objective hasn’t changed. The priority is and always has been the development of their franchise quarterback. That began when Darnold was named the starter out of training camp.
You hope Bowles is just being coy about officially announcing Darnold as his starter. There is plenty for the young quarterback to learn over the final four games — against the Bills, Texans, Packers and Patriots. Forget learning from the sidelines. As long as he’s healthy, Darnold needs to be on the field for the finish.
Darnold can check one off the bucket list on Sunday and prove he can win in tough conditions, that his hands won’t freeze, his passes won’t float and his mind won’t wander thinking about how warm the heated bench is.
The Jets have lost in five of their past six trips to Buffalo, including the infamous season finale in 2015 when a victory would have sent Bowles and the Jets to the playoffs in his rookie season as head coach. A stunning 22-17 defeat left the Jets with nowhere to go at 10-6, and Bowles has gone 13-31 since.
With a 3-9 record this season, the Jets are playing for pride and payback after enduring a 41-10 beating by the Bills on Nov. 11 at MetLife Stadium. It was the first of the three games Darnold has missed. This will be his first real exposure to the Bills.
“It’s going to be fun to go against them,” he said this week. “They did a good job of stopping us the first time. But I think our team is really looking forward to getting back out there and competing hard.”
Figure Darnold to be rusty if he does play. He has spent the past three games watching from the sidelines. It’s doubtful he could have learned much as the offense struggled under backup quarterback Josh McCown. The Jets averaged just 15 points a game and couldn’t get in the end zone at Tennessee, where they blew a 16-point lead.
Nonetheless, Darnold insists he benefited from the sideline view, but is eager to get back on the field.
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“There’s nothing like game experience,” he said, “nothing like getting out there and playing and experiencing those reps live. At the same time, it’s amazing watching a guy like Josh play. It’s amazing to watch him go through his daily process and what he does every single day to get ready for the game. I definitely took some notes of what he was doing.”
Being able to be productive in cold weather might sound trivial, but it’s another step in Darnold’s journey to be the franchise quarterback. There will be plenty of games in adverse weather conditions in places like Buffalo, New England and MetLife Stadium.
Darnold, as he said on Wednesday, has to learn “to deal with it somehow.” What better way to start than Sunday at Buffalo?
