New York Jets: The competitiveness of Sam Darnold is on another level

New York Jets QB Sam Darnold is ultra-competitive, but what he did ahead of Week 1 vs the Buffalo Bills takes it to another level.

Football players are competitive, big whoop.

Well, New York Jets Sam Darnold has taken that competitive energy to another level ahead of the 2019 season opener vs the Buffalo Bills.

For those who don’t know, Darnold and Bills quarterback Josh Allen are close friends. They built a close kinship ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft.

On draft night they were forever linked as a pair of first-round quarterbacks. Even more so than that, both were drafted into the same division in the NFL, the AFC East.

During the past two offseasons, they trained together and stay in close communication, well unless it’s game week of course.

During Thursday’s media interviews Darnold shared just how far their competitiveness can go:

“It’s fun to joke (with Josh Allen) during the offseason, but now that it’s here we aren’t talking at all. It’s go time and obviously, after the game, I’ll talk to him but we’re super competitive guys.”

This isn’t the first time that people have taken a closer look at the competitiveness of Darnold. In fact, earlier this offseason Darnold didn’t participate in a voluntary video shoot where NFL players were asked to wish New England Patriots quarterback and arch-rival, Tom Brady, a happy 42nd birthday.

“I’m going to get every competitive edge I can because he’s going to do the same thing,” Darnold told Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. “[Brady is] the ultimate competitor. He’s exactly where I want to be when I’m his age. To chase that, I can’t be giving him anything.”

The New York Jets haven’t won the AFC East since 2002, Darnold was five years old at that time. Heck forget the division, the green and white haven’t been to the playoffs since 2010. That’s the third-longest active drought in the NFL. The only two teams that have longer droughts than the Jets are the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Clearly the Jets need every competitive advantage they can get heading into 2019. If that means no more Happy Birthday messages or talking to your friends during game week, then so be it. New York will start its’ season at home vs the Buffalo Bills at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.