Sam Darnold has had the typical start for a rookie quarterback in the NFL Womens Neal Sterling Jersey , showcasing some eye-popping highs and some face-palming lows. All in all, his numbers line up almost dead on with the league average expectancy for rookies in recent history. Over the past decade (from 2008-2017), 21 rookie quarterbacks have thrown 100 passes or more over their team’s first five games of the season. Those players posted an average passer rating of 74.8 - Darnold is currently at 77.2. There have been players who have gone on to become greats who have started off worse (Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan), and players who went on to become busts who started off better (Robert Griffin III, Geno Smith, EJ Manuel).Still, it’s interesting to chop up the numbers and see exactly which situations a quarterback has thrived and struggled.While looking through Darnold’s splits Authentic Spencer Long Jersey , I noticed a particular area where the discrepancy in his production is noticeably large. He has produced at elite levels on 3rd down, but put up backup-quality numbers on 1st and 2nd down.Sam Darnold, on 3rd down:*- Ranks among the 29 quarterbacks with 30+ passing attempts on 3rd down.Raw numbers: 22/43, 344 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 interception.107.1 passer rating (4th)8.0 yards per attempt (7th)15.6 yards per completion (1st)51.2% completion rate (27th)5 touchdowns (2nd)1 interception (T-11th fewest)13 first down completions (T-13th)Sam Darnold, on 1st and 2nd down:*- Ranks among the 27 quarterbacks with 90+ passing attempts on 1st-2nd down.Raw numbers: 58/102, 687 yards Authentic Kelvin Beachum Jersey , 2 touchdowns, 5 interceptions.63.6 passer rating (27th)6.7 yards per attempt (26th)11.8 yards per completion (12th)56.9% completion rate (27th)2 touchdowns (27th)5 interception (T-4th most) > 4.9% INT rate, 2nd highest29 first down completions (27th)What gives? On the early downs, Darnold has easily been the league’s worst starter. He’s gotten yardage out of the passes he has completed, but he has turned the ball over too much and has not made nearly enough plays.On 3rd down, Darnold has been explosive, throwing the second most touchdowns with 4 of those coming from a distance of 20+ yards. He’s only thrown one interception, which was the deflected pass against Denver. He’s moved the chains at a league average rate.How does this compare to the other rookie quarterbacks? Let’s put Darnold’s numbers alongside those of the other rookies who have played significant time so far.3rd down:Darnold - 107.1 rating / 5 TD-1 INT / 8.0 Y/ABaker Mayfield - 75.5 / 0-1 / 8.2 Josh Rosen - 54.4 / 0-0 / 3.8Josh Allen - 36.6 / 0-3 / 6.21st-2nd down:Rosen - 96.1 / 2-0 / 7.9Mayfield - 85.4 / 3-2 / 7.8Allen - 69.0 / 2-2 / 5.8Darnold - 63.6 / 2-5 / 6.7What do you make of these numbers? Are these numbers just random chance? If not http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/qu … nwa-jersey , is the gap on Darnold himself, or can some of it be attributed to play-calling? Sam Darnold has had a profound positive impact on the Jets since returning from injury. He led them to an improbable road comeback victory in his first game back, and put forth a marvelous performance against the Texans that had the Jets competing to the end with a 10-win team.The Jets are 4-7 (.364) under Darnold this season, and 0-3 under Josh McCown. I was curious to see how that difference in win percentage compared to other starting quarterbacks who have had significant time both on the field and on the bench.The following list includes 2018 quarterbacks who have started at least two games and sat on the bench for at least two games. The players are ranked by the difference in their team’s win percentage in games they started versus games they did not play.*On this chart, I credited Baker Mayfield with the victory against the Jets in Week 3 over Tyrod Taylor - Mayfield did not start the game and thus Taylor owns official credit for the victory.49ers rookie Nick Mullens takes the top spot, but Darnold is right behind him at number two.Rookies dominate the top of the list. In addition to Mullens and Darnold in the top two slots, Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen Womens Buster Skrine Jersey , Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen also appear near the top, making it six rookies in the top eight.I think getting a chance to compare Darnold to another quarterback in his rookie season has been and will continue to be an interesting tool to use as we evaluate his first year. We got to see how the same exact football team ran without him for three games. When Darnold first went down, with him struggling and the Jets on a three-game skid, it felt like McCown might give the Jets a jolt. Instead, the opposite happened. The Jets got even worse under McCown’s leadership, especially offensively. The McCown-led offense scored two touchdowns in three games and averaged a whopping 12.7 points per game, worst in the NFL over that span. Overall http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/st … don-jersey , no NFL team had a worse point differential than the Jets (-49) during the time McCown spent at quarterback.Since Darnold has returned, the Jets have scored six offensive touchdowns and a total of 49 points in his two games back. The Jets are seventh in the NFL in points scored on offense over the past two weeks - and they’ve done it against two top-seven defenses according to DVOA.Of course, we’re comparing Darnold to a low bar here. McCown is a journeyman backup. While he did a nice job in 2017, his career numbers suggested strongly that steep regression was due for him this year. That ended up coming into fruition. Darnold has outplayed a below average quarterback - which you hope he would be able to do.Nevertheless, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to see the positive on/off impact Darnold is already having on the franchise.