5 reasons Jets can win with Sam Darnold in 2020

1. Sam Darnold is finally experiencing some system continuity

One of the biggest reasons quarterbacks can struggle in their early years is when teams aren’t patient with their head coaches. Rookie quarterbacks can take time to pick up an offensive system, but when the head coach gets fired a new regime often brings a new system with them, setting back the quarterback’s development.

Sam Darnold went through that growing pain last season when the Jets went from Todd Bowles to Adam Gase at head coach. Gase’s system was a different one than the Jets ran under Jeremy Bates in Darnold’s rookie year, which led to some growing pains in the first half of the season.

A big turning point for the Jets came when Darnold went to Gase in the middle of the year and suggested some changes to better take advantage of his skills. The Jets implemented those changes and Darnold looked far more comfortable down the stretch when the team won six of its final eight games.

Darnold is now in his second year in Gase’s offense, which should allow him to focus less on trying to remember the playbook and simply execute it to perfection. That continuity will be critical as Darnold aims to make a huge leap forward in 2020 and help the Jets win a ton of games, something their fan base would welcome as it has suffered nearly a decade without a playoff appearance.