Yahoo Lifestyle Sam Darnold stuns Broncos with 46-yard touchdown run to open 'Thursday Night Football'
The New York Jets picked up their first lead of the season on Thursday night, and Sam Darnold did it in style.
Darnold, on the Jets’ opening drive against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium, broke out on an impressive 46-yard touchdown run to give them a quick 7-0 lead.
Darnold escapes a sack, breaks out 46-yard TD run
Darnold dropped back on a third-and-7 near midfield and looked as if he was going to be sacked — as Broncos linebacker Alexander Johnson had a clear path to him.
Darnold, though, somehow shook Johnson and took off. The 23-year-old broke another tackle and then had a relatively easy route to the end zone for his fourth-career rushing touchdown.
The Broncos just weren’t there to stop him.
The run was Darnold’s third of the drive, which brought him to a career-high 57 rushing yards not even halfway through the first quarter. He’s just the third quarterback in the past five seasons to convert a 40-yard rushing touchdown, too, joining reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson and Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
His footwork impressed nearly everyone at home, too, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — as many had very low expectations headed into the game between the two winless franchises.
Helluva run by Darnold! The juke move once he got out the pocket was a RB elite move
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 2, 2020
Yo that was a crazy run!!
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) October 2, 2020
At the rate Darnold is going, this matchup in New Jersey may end up being a lot more exciting than advertised.
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