WATCH: Panthers' Sam Darnold scores league-leading fifth rushing touchdown
In three seasons with the New York Jets, quarterback Sam Darnold — never known for his speed and agility — scored just five rushing touchdowns total.
In three-and-a-half games with the Carolina Panthers, Darnold has scored five rushing touchdowns, which gives him the NFL lead in that department — surpassing even running backs. Furthermore, Darnold is the first quarterback in NFL history with five or more rushing touchdowns in his team’s first four games of a season.
Darnold on Sunday is keeping the Panthers even-keeled with the Dallas Cowboys early on, as he rushed for his second rushing touchdown of the day midway through the second quarter.
The touchdown, which saw Darnold run for a score on a second-and-9 snap from the Cowboys’ 12-yard line, put the Panthers up 14-13 following the point after.
Through three drives, the Panthers have punted once and scored twice — both touchdowns courtesy of Darnold on the ground. He’s completed nine of his 13 passing attempts so far against Dallas, good for 92 passing yards, but he’s notched an uncharacteristically efficient 28 rushing yards on just three attempts, along with two rushing touchdowns.
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Heading into Sunday’s contest, Darnold has been excellent with the Panthers, resurging his career after a subpar three-year tenure with the Jets. Darnold, the former third-overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, has led the Panthers to a 3-0 record including a Week 1 win over his former team in the Jets. Darnold tallied 888 passing yards and a 68.2 percent completion percentage through three games, averaging 8.3 yards per pass, throwing for three touchdowns and one interception. Additionally, he tallied three of his five rushing touchdowns in the first three weeks.
Darnold is amidst his fourth NFL season but first as a member of the Carolina Panthers. The former New York Jets quarterback had a 13-25 record in three seasons in New York, completing a hair under 60 percent of his passes for over 8,000 passing yards, 45 passing touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He played alongside wide receiver Robbie Anderson with the Jets, who was reunited with Darnold in Carolina.
In April of 2020, the Jets traded Darnold to the Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, along with a second-rounder and fourth-rounder in 2022. The Jets later drafted BYU quarterback Zach Wilson to replace Darnold.
Darnold, a former third-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Jets, had a stellar career with the USC Trojans, yielding his high draft stock. A two-sport high school athlete from San Clemente, California, Darnold was ranked a four-star recruit by most outlets before committing to USC. As a redshirt freshman starter in 2016, Darnold — the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year — led the Trojans to nine consecutive wins, culminating in a 2017 Rose Bowl victory. Darnold was later named a first team All-Pac-12 signal caller in 2017, and he finished his USC career with a 64.9 completion percentage, 7,229 passing yards, 57 passing touchdowns and 22 interceptions in two years as the Trojans’ starting quarterback.