Jets Sam Darnold On Bills Josh Allen: 'It's Been Cool Watching Him'
Sam Darnold has been keeping an eye on his fellow quarterbacks taken in the 2018 NFL Draft. This Sunday, Darnold will face another first round pick in Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
After a rocky rookie season, Allen has settled in nicely for the 10-5 Bills, who are headed to the playoffs in large part due to the development of their second-year quarterback. Allen has 3,089 passing yards as well as 20 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.
In addition, he has 510 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
Darnold said he’s been keeping an eye on Allen’s play this year as he tracks the Jets’ divisional rival but hasn't been able to watch every ebb and flow of the season.
“We've been playing a lot of the same opponents throughout the season, obviously. So, I've been watching his games, just watching the tape,” Darnold told reporters on Thursday.
“It's been cool watching him. They're having some good success there, but I haven't been too locked into his stats or anything like that.”
Allen is one of three quarterbacks from last year’s first round that the Jets have faced this year (Cleveland Browns Baker Mayfield and Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson; Darnold was unavailable for the Jets when they played Mayfield in Week 2). The Jets already faced Allen in Week 1 when he threw for 254 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a 17-16 comeback win on the road for the Bills.
The Jets moved up in last year’s draft to be able to select Darnold with the third pick. The Bills took Allen at No. 7.
After a rocky start to the year, which involved missing the next three games after Week 1 due to a diagnosis of mono, Darnold has settled in nicely. Over the second half of the season, he’s cut back on his turnovers and seen an uptick in his productivity.
The Jets, despite their 6-9 record, are looking to close out the season strong. They are 5-2 in their last seven games.
“I think it would be great to be able to go up against a really good Bills team, get a win, really good, divisional win away at the Bills,” Darnold said. “So, it'd be huge to be able to go to a tough environment and win against a good team.”
