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Over the second half of the NFL season, Sam Darnold’s progression was clearly evident. The young New York Jets quarterback showed better poise and progress in the pocket, cutting back on turnovers and making better decisions with the ball.  

Nowhere was this more evident than in Darnold’s ability in the red zone as well as his growth in showing patience in the pocket. These factors combined to see an improvement from Darnold with the ball while facing pressure. 

Consider that, in the final eight games of the season, Darnold threw just four interceptions, a stark contrast to the nine interceptions he had over the first five games he played. He learned to throw the ball away more, certainly a big reason for the drop in turnovers. But he also allowed his natural athleticism to come forth a bit more. 

Darnold escaped the pocket frequently over the final half of the season, showcasing an ability to sense pressure and move away from the pressure, in particular off the edge. His ability on the move to not just buy time – an act of survival behind an offensive line that was patchwork in quality – but also make throws on the run helped the Jets to an impressive 6-2 close to the season. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Darnold was tied for the league lead with 10 touchdown passes while under pressure. His ability to escape the pocket while also make smarter choices with the ball by not forcing the issue was evident in his improved decision-making. 

While the fact that Darnold faced a lot of pressure last year isn’t a good sign for the offensive line, it is promising that he learned to grow and develop when opposing teams were able to collapse the pocket. 

In addition, that means that more than half of Darnold's touchdown passes (he had 19 last year) came under pressure. That's not ideal from the offensive line's perspective.

The growth of Darnold is part of the reason why there is optimism surrounding the Jets in 2020 and beyond. After a rough start to the year, which included missing three games after a diagnosis of mononucleosis and a 1-7 start, the Jets quarterback showed quality growth over the final eight games of the season. 

Despite the rocky start to the year both personally and for the Jets, Darnold improved his passing yards, completion percentage and touchdown: interception over his rookie year.