DETROIT — No sane person associated with the Jets would have wished Sam Darnold’s first play on him. But in an odd, upside-down, Jets-ian way, it might have been the best thing that happened to him on Monday night.
After months of hype, the rookie quarterback finally made his NFL debut against the Lions at Ford Field and on national, prime-time TV, and on his first play was intercepted by Quandre Diggs, who returned the ball 37 yards for a touchdown.
To call it shocking would be a vast understatement. It was unfathomable. His parents were there.