Sam Darnold went a perfect 16 of 16 in the first half and tied a record 17 consecutive games to open a 38-14 drubbing of the Washington Commanders on Sunday night.
Darnold shined in every aspect, from quick, sharp lasers to deep bombs to third-read dump-offs to ideal pre-snap checks. It was a clinic from the former first-round pick, who has taken his game to another level in Klint Kubiak’s system.
“Believe me when I say, I’m not surprised,” head coach Mike Macdonald said of Darnold after the win, via the team’s official website. “We watched Sam every day how he operates, and he’s the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. And we’re chasing that. The guys are determined and it’s fun to watch. And when the team comes together, that’s the type of thing you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way.”
Darnold came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. His 16 straight first half completions weren’t a bunch of behind-the-line-of-scrimmage screens to stuff the stat sheet with empty calories. No, he diced Washington with the James Beard Award winner’s pizzazz en route to a perfect first-half offensive rating.
“Obviously I feel the flow of the game and understand that we are doing very well offensively, but no, I didn’t know that I didn’t throw a foul,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I didn’t throw an incomplete game, so I think he’s to blame for not throwing an incomplete game in the second half.” [I’m] not going to say who it was.”