Sam Darnold Post Game Press Conference

On how he feels he played…
I thought I played well. Got off to a good start, great first drive. Our offense, we really got in a good rhythm, so I felt like I played pretty well. Just have to cut down on the penalties which, again, I blame myself for those. Just as an offense we’ve got to be on the same page and that always comes back to the quarterback. Just more consistency. But I thought I played well again. Getting in and out of the huddle, I felt really good. So yeah, I thought I did a good job of managing the game pretty well.

On what success does for his confidence…
Just building wins, building little stacks of wins and you look at the end of the day and you’ve got a big stack. I’m just trying to come out here every single day, whether it’s practice or games, and just continue to be consistent. Manage the game, don’t turn the ball over and score in the red zone. That’s really the biggest thing that I try to do as a quarterback.

On his scramble on third down for a first down…
The one where I got a first down, I just realized that everyone kind of ran out of there playing man. I was dropping back and the internal clock was kind of going off and I saw some room in front of me and decided to go for it. Just tried to make a play and once I saw I got past the sticks I got down as soon as I could.

On if he thinks he has done enough to be the starter…
At the end of the day that’s up to the coaches. I’m not here to say that I’ve won the job or that I’ve lost the job. I’m just going to play consistent football, continue to put my best foot forward for the team, continue to be a good leader for the team and really just be myself, continue to be myself and at the end of the day that’s a coach’s decision.

On if today was the first time he met Joe Namath…
Yeah, that was the first time I met him. He’s just a great guy. He’s very charismatic and obviously there’s a lot of personality there and it was awesome to be able to talk to him for a little bit. First time meeting him I was hoping maybe I’d get some more time with him, I only got a couple minutes, but it was cool just to meet Broadway Joe and know the history that he has with this franchise. It was awesome to get to meet him.

On what Namath said to him…
He was kind of talking to all three of the quarterbacks because we all went. He was just like, “Man, I’m so proud of you guys. You guys have worked your butts off during OTAs and camp.” He was just saying, “Go get ‘em,” before the game.

On why he excels when things are not ideal in the pocket…
I just go out there and I try to stay within the pocket and try to make the throws when they’re there and when everything kind of collapses just try to make a play. Kind of what I’ve done my whole life, just play football and when something’s not there and I see a lane, take it, but also continue to continue to secure the football and not turn the ball over. If I can do those things and continue to play football at the same time I think I’ll be alright.

On changing a third-down play…
I just saw some backers mugged in the A-gaps and just thought that one of them wasn’t going to be able to get out to the tight ends and gave a little signal and the guys did a great job executing it.

On how he feels he performed in the preseason and training camp…
I think consistency is the biggest thing for me and so far I think I’ve been really consistent. But at the same time, obviously there’s little things that I can get better at. There always is and there always will be. So just going to continue to try to get better, but continue the consistent play and continue to score in the red zone. There’s kind of a theme of just not turning the ball over, being consistent and scoring in the red zone. It’s really the thing I have to do as a quarterback and I’m just going to try to do that every single day I get a chance to play football.

On what he thinks his best play was tonight…
I don’t know. I thought that third down that was just mentioned, was pretty cool to be able to see it, digest the information and kind of do that on my own. It was pretty cool to be able to see that as kind of the first few games in the NFL and see that and check to it, it was a really good feeling.

On if he was looking in the end zone before his touchdown pass to Terrelle Pryor…
Yeah, I was looking to hit Chris Herndon on a nice little post route and thought I could have maybe squeezed it in there. But again, going back to making sure that I’m taking care of the football, I just didn’t really want to force it in there and knew I had a shallow coming to me and dumped it off to Terrelle and he did the rest.

On what the next step is for him…
Nothing in particular. Just get better every single day. I think that’s the biggest thing – continue to be in and out of the huddle and consistent play.

On if things are fast for him in the NFL compared to college…
I think with the way our defense gives such a great look during practice, when I get out in the game it kind of feels the same which is a really good feeling as a guy that hasn’t played a ton of NFL football games, it’s awesome to be able to go out there in the preseason and go out and kind of feel the same way I feel at practice, really comfortable and know when I’ve got to get out of the pocket (and) know when I should maybe eat it or throw the ball away. Just all those things that have been popping up in my head in practice, it kind of feels the same way in the game which is pretty cool.

On how nice it was to have Quincy Enunwa playing…
It was awesome. (Enunwa) is a great receiver. A big body, too. Really physical, really quick. So it’s awesome to get back out there and to see him moving around really well and catching the football with that hand is awesome to see.