The Jets won a football game on Sunday. And make no mistake there was only one reason why they did. Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold, the Jets second year QB made his return to the field Sunday and lead the Jets to a 24-22 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. This was a very tough game, and a game nobody expected the Jets to win. No one expected them to win for good reasons too. Their QB was seeing the field for the first time in 4 weeks, just got medically cleared to start throwing a football the week prior to the game, they had a total of 1 offensive touchdown in their last 3 games, and they were still going to be without key players due to injury, the biggest being CJ Mosley. It was a game that us Jets fans were actually more excited to just see some competitive football. Did we expect the team to win? Of course not, did we say they were going to win to all of our friends? Of course we did. That is just how we operate. For the first time in a long time though our team backed us up, and once again we only have one man to thank, Sam Darnold.

Now I am aware that not just one man can win you a football game when there are 21 other players on the field, but I will tell you why this win belongs to Sam Darnold. This has nothing to do with his stats or how he played (even though he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week), this has more to do with his presence. The Jets obviously do not win this game if it was not for their defense. Their defense, minus CJ Mosley, lead my Jamal Adams played great. I know Dallas was playing really short handed but the players on the other side are still in the NFL, they have some talent. Throw in the fact you have Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliot, idc what you say, it is a tough matchup, and a matchup the Jets defense was up for. Besides giving up two late touchdown drives the D came up big when the Jets needed them most, stopping Dallas from getting the game tying 2-point conversion. This defense was playing at a different level of intensity Sunday, as was the other units of the team that were struggling. Why were they? Because they got their Quarterback back. Listen, these players are human, you don't think that they knew with Luke Falk at QB they had a chance to beat teams like the Eagles and Patriots? No, look how tough it was to beat Dallas and we had our QB playing lights out. These are tough teams. The players 100% knew going in they were at a disadvantage and its noticable on the field. That is not an excuse for how they played but still, it is understandable why they were getting killed the last couple of weeks. Sam Darnold being back on the field gives the team hope, and that is all you need, they all recognized it is still early in the season and truly believe they can make a run. I have to credit everyone in that organization for keeping the locker room together during those tough weeks because they looked like a gang of brothers on that field Sunday. They looked like a completely different team. I posted a couple of articles the last couple of weeks, emphasizing that they would look different because Sam Darnold has that type of ability he showed Sunday. Ian Rapport said it best with his tweet, "The Jets: a lot better with Sam Darnold". Simple yet so true, they are.

I think there was one sequence in which all Jets fans began to believe again. It was a 7-3 game, and the Cowboys were driving. 3rd and 1 inside the redzone and the Jets were able to stop Elliot short of the line to gain. Instead of taking the points early in the game, which you should always do on the road, the Cowboys decided to go for it. Jets rookie Quinnen Williams and star Jamal Adams ganged up and blew up the play stopping Dak Prescott about 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The crowd went nuts, but that was just the beginning of the celebration. THE VERY NEXT PLAY. The Jets went play action and Sam Darnold unleashed a bomb, a dime, and dropped it right in the bucket for Robby Anderson to take it and go 92 yards for a TD. Within one quarter the Jets went from a joke to a … oh damn I forgot about this Sam Darnold kid and what the Jets could be, and that is what I mean by the impact this kid makes.

I am so excited for the rest of the year but I do need to realize it was only one game against a beat-up team and they are still 1-4. But the schedule ahead is favorable and in reality the team is 1-0 with a healthy Sam Darnold. If the Jets play like they did Sunday, and maybe even better, as the team noted they left a lot out there, this could be a special run. I'm ready for the ride, bring on New England and Jet Up baby.