LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Toward the end of the game, all Sam Darnold wanted to talk about on the sideline was his interception.
Thanks to Darnold’s career-high four touchdown passes and the Washington Redskins’ offensive ineptitude, that mistake was a mere blip in the New York Jets’ 34-17 rout Sunday.
Darnold was 19 of 30 passing with 293 yards and tossed touchdowns to Daniel Brown, Robby Anderson, Ryan Griffin and former Redskins receiver Jamison Crowder to help New York win its second in a row.
“For us as an offense as a whole, it's just another stepping stone in the right direction,” Darnold said. “Once our offense is in a really good rhythm, it's easy for me and a lot of the other guys on the offense to go and make plays.”
Despite getting picked off deep in his own territory by Jon Bostic, the 2018 third overall pick bounced back and now has 11 TDs and 10 INTs this season. Darnold excelled at throwing on the run and managed the game well.
“He's still developing,” Crowder said. “You can definitely tell that he's starting to be a little more vocal, take ownership of the offense, which he should — that's part of the development of a quarterback in this league. I'm just glad he's taking the right steps to become a great quarterback in this league.”
The Jets (3-7) sacked Redskins rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins six times, including three by safety Jamal Adams, and linebacker Neville Hewitt intercepted him in his return to the lineup. Le’Veon Bell ran for a 1-yard TD, and New York reached 400 yards of offense for the first time in 20 games.
Washington (1-9) set a franchise record by going 16 consecutive quarters without a touchdown before Derrius Guice scored on a 45-yard screen pass early in the fourth. Haskins was 19 of 35 passing for 214 yards and threw TD passes to Guice and tight end Jeremy Sprinkle in his first game since being named starter for the rest of the season.
That feels like a long time away for two teams on pace for a top-five draft pick. The Jets look like they’ve made some semblance of progress under first-year coach Adam Gase, while the Redskins are 1-4 under interim replacement Bill Callahan and off to their worst 10-game start since 1961, when they were 0-9-1.
“I don’t think we were close today,” Callahan said. “We didn’t come out and put together the type of game early on to make it competitive and put ourselves in a put ourselves in a position to win or separate, or do anything. We dug ourselves a pretty good hole and we never really recovered from it.”
COMING UP EMPTY
The Redskins’ 16 quarters without a touchdown were the most by any team since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. They broke the franchise record of 13 quarters set by the 1936 Boston Redskins before Guice finally broke out in his return from a Week 1 knee injury.
“It wasn’t good enough to win,” Haskins said. “Life is hard. You’ve got work harder.”
SACKMASTER ADAMS
Adams became the second defensive back in the past decade with three sacks in a game, matching what Mike Hilton of the Pittsburgh Steelers did in 2017. With six sacks, he set the Jets single-season franchise record for the most by a defensive back.
“Honestly, the picks are not coming my way, so I thought I'd do something different,” Adams said.
The 24-year-old is on a roll. Adams led the Jets with nine tackles and two forced fumbles last week against the Giants. Adams joked that other defenders are mad at him for hogging all the sacks.
“But it's all love,” he said. “I appreciate it.”
NO D IN REDSKINS
Even after allowing 34 points to a team that entered with the worst offense in the league, it seems like defensive coordinator Greg Manusky’s job is safe. Asked if he was considering any chances to the defensive staff, Callahan said, “Not at this juncture, no.”
INJURIES
Jets: Rookie RT Chuma Edoga left with an ankle injury and was replaced by Brandon Shell. ... Played without DBs Darryl Roberts (calf) and Matthias Farley (quadriceps) and LBs C.J. Mosley (groin) and LB Paul Worrilow (quadriceps).
Redskins: DL Daron Payne left with an ankle injury. ... WR Paul Richardson didn’t play because of a hamstring injury. TE Vernon Davis (concussion) missed his sixth consecutive game and RB Chris Thompson (toe) his fourth.
UP NEXT
Jets: Host coach Jon Gruden’s Oakland Raiders next Sunday.
Redskins: With Matthew Stafford injured, could face Lions backup Jeff Driskel when they host Detroit next Sunday.
