Although Sam Darnold’s performance in the Carolina Panthers’ Week 17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came with mixed results, it’s hard to say he disappointed. Can you really ask for more than a career-high 341 passing yards and three touchdowns?
This week, for the regular-season finale, he gets a hot New Orleans Saints defense—one that has held their last two opponents to 10 points apiece. They essentially shut down both Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson and Philadelphia’s Gardner Minshew—so Darnold will, once again, need to bring his best in what may be a prove-it performance heading into an uncertain offseason.
