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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In his most important audition for the Jets so far -- a full half against a first-team defense -- Sam Darnold was not at his best. But it still might have been good enough to convince Todd Bowles to hand him the starting quarterback job.

The 21-year-old Darnold only completed 8 of 16 passes for 86 yards in the Jets' 22-16 loss to the Giants on Friday night. But beyond the numbers the kid continued to look like he's ready. He led two touchdown drives against the Giants' first-team defense, despite a leaky offensive line, generally poor field position and a patchwork receiving corps. Yes, his numbers probably should have been better.

They certainly could have been worse.

The most impressive thing about Darnold is still his poise under pressure and his ability to get out of trouble. Several times he escaped a pocket that was collapsing and managed to get in position to throw the ball away. Once, on a 3rd and 13, he moved up through the pocket and took off for a 15-yard run. He also threw a touchdown pass to receiver Terrelle Pryor with several defenders in his face.

And while he was off on some of his throws, he continues to put passes in places where only the receivers can catch them - something good quarterbacks do to cut down on turnovers.

No, he hasn't lit it up yet. The Jets still haven't allowed him to test himself (and defenses) deep. But if this summer has been about seeing if Darnold, the third-overall pick, is really ready -- and yes, that's what it's been about -- then at this point the answer has to be "yes."

Maybe Teddy Bridgewater is the best quarterback in camp. Maybe Josh McCown would be a steadying influence for a still-young team. And maybe there will be some struggles early as Darnold adjusts to life as an NFL starter. But it's been clear so far that he can handle that. No, he wasn't great on Friday night. But nothing he did gave any indication that he's not up for the job.

As for the rest of the Jets, here are some more notes and observations from their third preseason game …

The Jets special teams were pretty bad last year and they looked like an absolute nightmare in this game. It's hard to adequately describe how bad their coverage was on the 55-yard punt return for a touchdown by Giants WR Hunter Sharp. It was as if they were all expecting the kick and the return to go to the other side of the field. That wasn't their only bad punt coverage either. And their night was made worse when rookie RB Trent Cannon -- who has had a tough summer fielding punts -- fumbled a kickoff return when he was hammered by Giants LB Ray-Ray Armstrong. In his defense, it looked like he was horse-collared from behind by Giants WR Russell Shepard right before he took the hit, but he still has to hold onto the ball.
RG Brian Winters returned to action and the offensive line was a little better, but it is still a work in progress. Brent Qvale struggled at LT in place of Kelvin Beachum and, as noted above, Darnold was on the run far too often. There also wasn't much room to run. Take out Darnold's two carries and Bilal Powell and Isaiah Crowell combined for 26 yards on 11 carries in the first half. In fairness, the Giants' defensive line is outstanding - particularly against the run. But that's still not very good.
There's understandably been a lot of focus on the Jets' search for an edge rusher, but overlooked has been the solid addition inside of LB Avery Williamson. He made a terrific play early in the game to stop Giants RB Jonathan Stewart and rip the ball from his arms for a fumble that DE Leonard Williams recovered.
Williams, by the way, returned that fumble 39 yards flashing pretty impressive speed for a 302-pounderpounder. He had a couple of quick pass rushes too. He's going to need help from somewhere, but he seems increasingly primed for a bounce-back year. Of course, he was facing Giants RT Ereck Flowers on Friday night. That's a good matchup for most.
Nice to see Quincy Enunwa back in action for the first time in a year and making his first catch since the final game of the 2 016 season. He had two big catches for 28 yards. Terrelle Pryor made his Jets debut too with a 12-yard touchdown catch. WR Jermaine Kearse did not play in the game.
Rough night for Jets TE Eric Tomlinson. Two false start penalties in the first two drives. He also got absolutely destroyed trying to block Giants LB Olivier Vernon. The Jets' tight end position is an open book. The team is hoping rookie Chris Herndon and second-year pro Jordan Leggett emerge. But Tomlinson has to do better than that to stay in the mix.
K Taylor Bertolet missing an extra point, albeit after it was pushed back because of a penalty, doesn't help his cause after the Jets brought in veteran K Jason Myers.

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