That’s more like it.
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Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers lost on Sunday, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-18 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Darnold had won his first three games with Carolina before dropping the last two contests.
During the season-opening three-game winning streak, Darnold threw for three touchdowns and ran for another three, completing at least 67.7% of his passes in each game, and looking very much like the player the New York Jets selected with the No. 3 pick overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
However, Darnold has come crashing back to Earth in the last two games, throwing five interceptions and being sacked eight times, looking like the player the Jets traded away before the 2021 season so they could draft Zach Wilson.
Former WFAN host Mike Francesa said it best with this tweet on Sunday: “For the first time this year, Sam Darnold looked like the one who played for the Jets.”
Darnold, for his part, owned up to his struggles on Sunday.
“We have to come out of the locker room firing,” Darnold said. “We have to execute. We can’t hurt ourselves with penalties and turnovers.”
Darnold finished 21 of 37 for 177 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
“There were guys that were open and we’ve got to make those throws,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said of Darnold’s performance.
Of course, Darnold isn’t getting much help from his offense. In the back-to-back losses to NFC East foes Dallas and Philadelphia, he has been hit 19 times and sacked eight times.
“I need to get the ball out faster,” Darnold said.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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