N.Y. Jets: Stuck on the Tarmac After Week One Loss

From the desk: WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

WEEK ONE

Jets             14

PANTHERS  19

FINAL 

Sam, I Am, Defeats Former Team; Zack Wilson Has Representative Debut

You know, down deep inside, Sam Darnold is reveling at the moment.  Facing his former team, Sam threw 24/35 (68.5%) for 279 yards, with a touchdown pass to his favorite former teammate Robby Anderson and one rushing touchdown on a draw play.  His new teammate Christian McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards on 21 rushes and caught another nine passes for 89 yards.  Yeah, Sam is happy.

Jets fans, not so much ...

Give Matt Ammendola the game ball!

It was that kind of game.

In the second half, right tackle Mekhi Becton sustained a right knee injury and needed to be carted off the field.  That's a huge blow.  Otherwise, the entire offensive line had a bad day at the office.  We know everyone is expecting the Jets to run.  In turn, they rushed 17 times for just 45 yards.  Meanwhile, rookie quarterback Zack Wilson was sacked six times and hit another ten times.

Under duress, Zack Wilson still threw 20/37 for 258 yards with two TD passes and one interception.  He and Corey Davis connected five times for 97 yards and both touchdowns.

Time of possession was decently close.  Carolina held the ball for just over thirty-one minutes.  The Panthers achieved 18 first downs while the Jets made 14 first downs.  The Jets defense did a much better job in the second half, holding the Panthers to three points.  But they recorded just one sack and managed eight other hits on Darnold, hardly disruptive.

The real problem on defense was Christian McAffrey -- the young Jets had no answer.