Tough Scene
It would appear that Robby Anderson is done with Sam Darnold
Being traded to the Carolina Panthers was billed as a fresh start for former New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold. Through three weeks of the 2021 NFL season, that's exactly the narrative that was playing out, with the Panthers starting 3-0 and Darnold looking like the legit NFL starter many expected him to be out of USC.
Six weeks later and that storyline has begun to die a swift death, with the Panthers dropping five of their last six, including games against the New York Giants and New England Patriots in which they scored a combined nine points. Sammy D is seeing ghosts again, unable to rub off that Jets stank that seems to stick to so many who dare to stick their hands under center as a member of Gang Green (Joe Namath not included).
Darnold's worst game as a Panther may have come on Sunday against the man who made him see ghosts, Bill Belichick. He went 16-for-33 for 172 yards and no touchdowns, and was picked off three times. The one thing he had been good for this year—scrambling—wasn't great either, as Darnold ran for nine yards on three carries and fumbled once. Here was his most brutal turnover of all, which occurred while the Panthers were actually driving down to potentially tie the game or at least cut into New England's eight-point lead. Instead, it turned into a 15-point lead:
At the end of the video, you'll notice wide receiver Robby Anderson nearly catching J.C. Jackson's shoestrings, hustling his heart out after a brutal pick from his former and current teammate Darnold. Unfortunately, Anderson cannot seem to escape Darnold's shortcomings.
Anderson's frustrations with that fact came to a head later in the game, when Darnold threw a third interception, all but sealing the game. Cameras captured Anderson screaming at the quarterback, the universal wide receiver sign for "this season is about to go in the toilet":
A second angle from the crowd showed Anderson actually made two trips past Darnold to really drive his point home. YIKES:
Yeah, this ain't going to end well. Put yourself in Anderson's shoes - he escaped from New York and escaped the erratic play of Darnold, had career-highs of 95 receptions and 1,096 yards in 2020 in Carolina with Teddy Bridgewater, and then got stuck with Sam again in 2021. His one catch for two yards on Sunday gave him 19 catches and 206 yards on the year, a year that should be one of his prime years in the NFL. You'd be yelling and screaming on the sideline, too.