Linked by fate, Sam Darnold struggles with Jets while Browns' Baker Mayfield sees some light

The two quarterbacks who will take the field on Sunday inside MetLife Stadium will be forever linked because they were in the same draft, selected two picks apart and were expected to lead their respective franchises to new and lofty heights.

Theirs is a story of what could have been, what could be and what never was.

Many thought Sam Darnold would go first overall to the Browns in 2018. But they decided to go with Baker Mayfield. The Jets probably would have taken Mayfield, but they were overjoyed that Darnold was there for them and thought their franchise quarterback just dropped into their lap.

But on Sunday, Darnold could be playing his last home game as a Jet inside a near empty MetLife Stadium while Mayfield has the Browns at 10-4 and on the verge of their first playoff berth since 2002.

This one was hard to predict or see coming, especially since Darnold showed such promise in his first two seasons. The Jets are 1-13 and Darnold has thrown six touchdowns passes and nine interceptions in 10 games. Mayfield has one fewer interception on the season and has thrown six touchdown passes in his last two games.

"Quarterbacks and coaches in this league are always judged on wins and losses," Darnold said. "That’s it. Baker’s winning this year. We haven’t won as much this year as we would like. We’re going to continue to be judged on that, as we should be.

"Baker’s been doing a really good job this year. For me there’s some things that I’ve got to continue to work on. He’s been doing a great job and they’ve been winning games."

To be fair, Mayfield is working with a lot more around him.

The Browns have done a good job of putting together an impressive team on both sides of the ball. They have the NFL’s best running back duo (Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt) and an elite pass rusher (Myles Garrett). They’re good on the back, and they have strong leadership.

First-year NFL coach Kevin Stefanski stepped into the job and has had the impact on the young quarterback and the team that CEO Christopher Johnson hoped Adam Gase would have on the Jets and Darnold.

It’s fair to note that Stefanski wasn’t interviewed by the Jets in 2019 when they were looking for Todd Bowles’ replacement.

The fiery Mayfield — whose first career win as a quarterback came against the Jets in 2018 and ending the Browns’ streak of 19 consecutive losses — has shown improvement in all areas after a 22-touchdown, 21-interception season last year for 6-10 Cleveland.

Mayfield has thrown 25 touchdowns passes, is completing 64% of his throws, and has a passer rating of 99.4. His interceptions are way down, and he’s been sacked 18 times compared to 22 last year.

"They got an O-Line that’s doing a really good job as far as creating holes and creating a really good running game and playing off of that," Gase said. "They’ve surrounded the quarterback with a lot of skill players that have helped keep accelerating and getting better and better.

"Coming into this year, a lot of people wondered how we well he was going to play. He’s played really well this year. They’ve won a lot of games. That’s what a lot of people were wondering: what was going to happen. He’s done a good job of handling a new coaching staff and coming out and playing well this year."

The Jets are nearing the end of the Gase era and probably the Darnold one as well. Their unexpected win over the Rams last week left the door open a little for Darnold staying, though.

The Jaguars are now leading the race for worst record. The winner gets to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick.

If Jacksonville loses their last two games against the Bears and Colts, they will pick first. If that happens, the Jets have a big decision to make. But general manager Joe Douglas and whomever the new coach is probably will want to start fresh with a new quarterback who can be molded and developed.

"The ups and down of the past almost three years now, of taking that step from college to the NFL, I definitely feel for what Sam is going through and has gone through," Mayfield said. "I am not in his shoes so I know I am not there for the day-to-day stuff, but I know the responsibility and pressure that he is under.

"You feel for him. You want it to work out. You do not want any ill will — it is just bad karma. But Sam is a good guy, and I hope for the best for him."

Darnold certainly has shown flashes that he can be a good NFL quarterback. But not enough this year. Last week was one of those few moments. Darnold played a clean game, didn’t make bad decisions and force things, plus he threw the ball away to avoid sacks.

Gase was happy for all of the Jets that they finally got the win. But he felt a little more satisfaction for Darnold since his name has been dragged through the mud this year nearly as much as Gase’s.

"Yeah, absolutely," Gase said. "He did a lot of really good things that they seem to be really simple but it doesn’t always happen that way. I think he did a good job of executing everything the way that we needed it done for us to win."

It certainly is a story of what could have been.

Notes & quotes: The Jets activated rookie running back La'Mical Perine from injured reserve. He missed the previous four games with a high-ankle sprain . . . Linebackers Brady Sheldon, Sharif Finch and Noah Dawkins were activated from the practice squad to the active roster.