New York Jets: 3 Vital statistics for 2019 season
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There was a sense of hope when the 2018 season kicked off at Detroit rookie quarterback Sam Darnold threw a pick-six early in the game and wound up responding with a touchdown drive shortly afterward.
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The Jets rolled up five takeaways on a Monday night against Lions and won going away, 48-17. A few weeks later, New York posted back-to-back home wins over the Broncos and Colts to get their record back to 3-3. But a long year was in the cards at the club lost nine 9 of its last 10 games and finish for 4-12.
One of the issues was the team’s inability to hang on to the football. Darnold had his issues and understandably so as a first-year NFL player. He hit on just 57.7 percent of his throws for 2,865 yards and 17 scores in his 14 appearances. He was also picked off 15 times and lost two of his five fumbles. All told, the Jets finished with 30 turnovers in 16 contests, the fourth-highest total in the league.
In the Week 1 loss to the Bills, it was ironic that the Jets came up big in the turnover battle. The team picked off Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen twice and recovered two of his fumbles.
New York’s lone miscue was a lost fumble by wide receiver Quincy Enunwa (now out for the season), meaning zero turnovers for Darnold, who played much better late in 2018 in terms of taking care of the football.