WATCH: How one mistake sparked Sam Darnold to best practice of Jets training camp
Sam Darnold was absolutely on fire at Wednesday's Jets practice, in by far the quarterback's most dominant showing of training camp. All it took was for some early rage to kick in.
On the first rep of practice, Darnold and running back Le'Veon Bell each went in the wrong direction on a handoff. That botched play irritated Darnold so much that he locked in and dominated the rest of practice.
Over the next 22 snaps, Darnold responded by completing 12 of his 15 passes along with two touchdowns.
"He was mad after the first play and then I was like: 'We're probably going to have a good day.'" Jets coach Adam Gase said. "He makes one mistake and he locks in really good."
Darnold sure did, as he was efficient in a variety of ways, particularly outside the pocket.
Darnold connected on short routes to Jamison Crowder and Chris Herndon. Darnold found Quincy Enunwa across the middle. Darnold rolled out on the right to thread a pass to Robby Anderson on the outside. Darnold also hooked up with his backfield of Bell and Ty Montgomery.
Darnold flashed his clutch gene as well. Darnold rolled out to his left to complete a pass to Crowder that got the Jets just short of the end zone. Then Darnold rushed his unit to the line and found Crowder for a touchdown along the right pylon.
“When he’s playing like that, I don’t think there is a ceiling (for this offense)," Anderson said.
Gase marvels at Darnold's ability to roll out to his left as a right-handed quarterback.
"When he throws it, he can get his whole body into it. He torques it. He torques his hips and that ball comes flying out of there and it's accurate," Gase said. "I haven't seen too many guys throw to the left the way that he does. It's impressive."
Gase is extremely encouraged by the strides made from the second-year quarterback.
"What I've seen in OTAs and training camp and how he commands everything and how he's learning and how he's trying to make sure that he knows everything on the inside and out so that he can be the leader that he wants to be," Gase said. "That's very encouraging for all of us."
Wednesday was an excellent step in the right direction for Darnold, as his competitive nature shined in a major way. Once Darnold fully grasps Gase's offense, the potential is there for the Jets to thrive offensively.
