Sam Darnold shines in best overall performance, nearly delivers Jets a victory over Texans.
Sam Darnold nearly pulled off another one.
Six days after leading the New York Jets to the first fourth-quarter comeback victory of his young career, the rookie quarterback almost did it again — falling just shy in a 29-22 loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday night.
« To go out there against a good Texans team, it would’ve been awesome to be able to get that win, » Darnold said, « but we just came up short. »
Things looked promising after Darnold and the Jets (4-10) took their first lead of the game on Elijah McGuire’s 2-yard touchdown run with just 5 minutes left.
The No. 3 overall pick made plays with his arm and legs during the impressive 15-play, 73-yard go-ahead drive as he converted three third-down plays and a fourth-down opportunity.
« He played a gritty ballgame, » coach Todd Bowles said. « He played tough and made some throws. »
On third-and-10 from the 19, Darnold took off for 14 yards — and a holding call on Aaron Colvin put the ball on the 2. After Darnold was stopped for no gain on a quarterback draw, he handed the ball to McGuire who pushed up the middle — surrounded by a surging mass of blockers who helped shove him all the way into the end zone for the score.
It set off a wild celebration by the Jets.
But Deshaun Watson and the Texans — whose nine-game winning streak was snapped by Indianapolis last Sunday — weren’t going down for the second straight game. Watson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins with 2:15 left, lifting Houston to the victory.
« We’ve just got to finish the game, » Darnold said.
