Panthers and Sam Darnold Expected to Dominate Jets in Week 1
By Peter Dewey
Sign me up for some revenge game Sam Darnold in Week 1.
After the New York Jets absolutely killed the first three seasons of Darnold’s career by pairing him with Adam Gase for the past two seasons, the former USC quarterback gets a new start in Carolina.
So, it’s only fitting that the Carolina Panthers play the Jets in Week 1 of the 2021 season. We all may work hard, but the NFL’s scheduling experts work harder.
Panthers fans certainly hope that Darnold brings his best self in the revenge game, and Vegas is all in on the fourth-year quarterback to show the Jets what they missed on. WynnBET has Darnold third on the odds list at +1000 to lead the NFL in passing yards in Week 1.
Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and… Sam Darnold. We expected those three players to be mentioned in the same sentence, right?
Jets fans would certainly love to see rookie quarterback Zach Wilson outplay Darnold, but Wilson is just +5000 to lead the NFL in passing in Week 1. That doesn’t mean he can’t still have a good game, but the oddsmakers are really backing Darnold against a Jets’ defense that recently lost Carl Lawson for the season.
New York was the fifth-worst team in the NFL against the pass last season, allowing 4,409 yards. For a team that played from behind in almost every game last season, it’s surprising to see that New York still was burned by the pass all season. Usually, bigger leads for teams means the running game will close things out, but not for the Jets last season.
Darnold will have a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal, as a healthy Christian McCaffrey, Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore will go a long way towards having a bounce-back season in 2021.
Moore, in fact, is second on the odds list to lead the NFL in receiving yardage in Week 1 at +1500 odds. We’re going to find out this season if Darnold’s struggles were completely his doing or if Gase was truly a horrible coach (Vegas is leaning heavily towards the latter), and Week 1 will be a great test to see where he’ll stack up in 2021.
Will Sam Darnold lead the NFL in passing yardage in Week 1? Make your pick now on WynnBET.