Kevin Gorman: Steelers plan to put blinding pressure on Jets QB Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold might have seen ghosts against New England, but the New York Jets second-year quarterback should be more wary of the shadows.

Joe Namath of Beaver Falls casts a long one, as the only Jets quarterback to win a Super Bowl. So do Darnold’s classmates in the 2018 NFL Draft, as Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson is the MVP frontrunner and Buffalo’s Josh Allen clinched a playoff berth.

As much as Darnold has shown signs of the pedigree that made him the third overall player picked in the draft, his greatest challenge will be living up to enormous expectations that come with playing quarterback in the Big Apple. That kind of pressure can be blinding to a young quarterback.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are wary of the damage Darnold can do, given how the Jets are a different team since his return after being sidelined for four weeks with mononucleosis. The 22-year-old has completed 61% of his passes for an average of 247 yards per game, with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Jets are 5-5 in those games.

“He has all the talent that makes him a top draft pick,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “He has great mobility and arm strength and touch. He doesn’t panic under pressure. He has been a big challenge, watching the tape, in terms of the things that they do with him. They run him in the red zone. He has a couple rushing touchdowns. There are a lot of top-notch young quarterbacks in the league.”

That’s especially true of the 2018 first-round class, which saw Baker Mayfield go No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns, Darnold third to the Jets, Allen seventh to the Bills, Josh Rosen 10th to the Arizona Cardinals and Jackson 32nd to the Ravens.

The Steelers have lost to Jackson, Mayfield and Allen this season — “Thanks for reminding me that,” Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler said, with an eye roll and a laugh — so they will disguise their defense to keep Darnold guessing.

“If you slip up in the NFL,” Darnold said, “you get exposed.”

Darnold was wearing a microphone when he was caught saying he was “seeing ghosts” against New England. He completed 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards with four interceptions and no touchdowns for a 3.6 passer rating in the 33-0 loss in Week 7.

The Steelers believe that comment was blown out of proportion.

“The Patriots came with a pretty complicated blitz scheme, and he was struggling with it on third downs. He’s a young quarterback. That’s what’s expected,” Steelers inside linebacker Vince Williams said. “He’s going to be definitely better than what they got him with. You expect everybody to be competent. He’ll grow from it. He has grown from it.”

In the eight games since playing the Patriots, Darnold has completed 62.8% of his passes for an average of 255.4 yards, with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His best performance came in a 34-3 win over Oakland on Nov. 24, when Darnold completed 20 of 29 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another.

What the Steelers found on film is the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Darnold is just as dangerous throwing while rolling to his right as he is passing from the pocket. That puts the onus on Pro Bowl outside linebacker T.J. Watt to flush Darnold to his left, preferably right into the arms of an awaiting Bud Dupree.

“He rarely gets fooled, in terms of holding the ball and stuff where he panics,” Butler said of Darnold. “You don’t see that a lot out of him. What we’ve got to try to do is get him in those situations best we can.

“When he scrambles and goes to his right, he’s pretty accurate. Or inside the pocket, he’s pretty accurate. I think he would tell you he’d rather scramble to the right than the left or stay in the pocket and throw the ball. That’s probably where he’s more successful. It’s important that we make him scramble to his left and flush him out.”

What the Steelers don’t want is to allow Darnold to do what he does best, picking apart a defense by delivering precise passes to running back Le’Veon Bell and receivers Jamison Crowder and Robby Anderson. What he can’t afford is to take sacks against the NFL’s leaders or throw interceptions against an opportunistic defense that dines on picks.

“I’ve got continue to get the ball out and make sure that I’m not staying in there and doing any unnecessary things to cause pressure on myself or hurt the team in any fashion,” Darnold said. “I’ve got to continue to play smart football.”

Whether Darnold sees ghosts or shadows doesn’t matter to the Steelers, as long as he is scrambling to his left and doesn’t see them coming from the blind side.

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