Sam Darnold takes the high road when asked about his disastrous stint with the Jets

The undefeated Minnesota Vikings will take on the 2-2 New York Jets this week in the first London game of the 2024 NFL season, where all eyes will be on surprise MVP candidate Sam Darnold as he takes on the team that drafted him third overall back in 2018. Naturally, Darnold was asked about his time in New York ahead of Sunday's matchup, but the QB declined to make waves.

Sam Darnold refuses to blame Jets for early-career struggles

Darnold was asked if he had thought the Jets had failed him. "No," he said.

"I had a lot of opportunities in New York and I always felt like I could've played better there," he continued.

And he's not wrong: The Jets gave the former USC Trojan three years to blossom into the franchise quarterback that the Minnesota Vikings found four years later, and while you could certainly quibble with the coaching staff and supporting cast, Darnold also bears plenty of the blame. In his three years in New York, he struggled with interceptions, never recorded more than 19 touchdown passes and failed to eclipse more than 4,000 passing yards (in fact, in 2018 he barely eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark).

The Jets would then trade him to the Carolina Panthers, where it appeared through the first four games of the season he had become who the Jets thought they drafted (even leading the league in rushing touchdowns through four weeks!). But Darnold would later find himself on the bench that season, and it appeared as if his career as a starter was over.

After a year as Brock Purdy's backup with the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold signed with Minnesota, where it appeared he would compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job. When McCarthy was lost for the season in the preseason, though, the job fell solely in Darnold's lap. Since then he has run away with the job, tossing 11 touchdowns to only three interceptions.

As Darnold answered that question this week, he could've taken the time to trash the Jets and say they threw him into the fire, with poor coaches, a poor line and poor weapons around him. But he didn't, which goes to show you the kind of person Darnold is — it must've been tempting to take at least a small victory lap, given how much of a punching bag he became over those three seasons.

But really, where would that have gotten him? He's moved onward and upward, and bulletin board material at this point would just come off as petty. Instead, Darnold will look to do his talking on the field, where he and Justin Jefferson have led Kevin O'Connell's offense expertly so far this season. Kickoff for Vikings-Jets is set for at 9:30 a.m. ET, exclusively on NFL Network.