Le’Veon Bell: We can’t expect Sam Darnold to be Superman

[Rowdy]

Getty Images

Jets running back Le'Veon Bell is excited.

Sam Darnold is set to start at quarterback for the first time since the first game of the regular season and Bell said on Wednesday that no one is more excited than him about that development. Anyone who has seen the Jets offense rely almost entirely on Bell for the last three games can understand why he’s looking forward to having Darnold back in the saddle.

Bell’s excitement doesn’t leave him unaware of the bigger picture, however. The Jets offense was far from unstoppable back in Week One and Darnold’s return isn’t going to fix everything that’s been wrong with the team all by itself.

“We can’t expect Sam to just go out there and be Superman, obviously,” Bell said, via NorthJersey.com. “We know he’s a great player and he’s going to make a lot of plays, but guys still gotta do their job. We’ve still got to protect him, we’ve still got to make plays for him, we’ve got to make sure we get all the calls in, everybody’s got to line up and make his job easier so he doesn’t have to think too much.”

Better offensive line play would be a boon for both Darnold and Bell. The Jets made changes to that unit last week and the Eagles recorded 10 sacks, which has left them doing some more experimenting ahead of Darnold’s return against the Cowboys. There are other issues to sort out, but finding the right mix up front would be a big step for the Jets.