Seven plays.

That’s all it took for Sam Darnold and the Jets offense to travel 75 yards and score on the team’s opening drive of the preseason on Thursday night against the Giants. It was a short, yet significant and promising glimpse into a potential future for the Jets.

“Hopefully it gave Jets fans a little taste of what this season will be like,” Darnold said after the 31-22 loss. “We can clean things up, but I thought, for the most part, we did a pretty good job.”

After a short run and an incomplete pass to open the drive, Darnold went to work and shredded the Giants offense. He went 4-5 on his lone series in his 2019 preseason debut, including a beautiful 32-yard scrambling toss to Chris Herndon, a 28-yard check-down to Jamison Crowder and a three-yard touchdown to Crowder less than four minutes into the game.

Not only did Darnold look vastly improved from his rookie season, but the rest of the offense appeared to be in lockstep with each other the entire drive. Only one play didn’t gain positive yardage – Darnold’s lone incompletion.

Every other play looked pristine in Adam Gase’s fast-paced, efficient offense, and the coach was pleased with what he briefly saw from the first-teamers.

“I love the tempo they played with,” Gase said. “I thought Sam did a good job extending plays on third down. Guys were in the right spot. Communication was good. I thought the pocket held up.”

The offensive line as a whole protected Darnold well, and when the pocket broke down Darnold maintained composure to stay upright, extend the play and find the open receiver in Herndon for a big gain. Herndon won’t play in the first four games following a suspension from the NFL, but he should play a big role in the offense once he returns given how effective he is in the middle of the field.

For the most part, the Jets knew what they were getting in Darnold, Herndon and the other returning players. What they didn’t know was how guys like Crowder and Kelechi Osemele would mesh with the rest of the team. Both Crowder and Osemele are coming off injury-plagued seasons, but both looked to be back to their old selves in their debut with the Jets.

Crowder especially showed how important he will be to Darnold and the Jets offense as a whole. The slot wideout corraled both his targets for 31 yards and touchdown. His 28-yard reception in the slot put the Jets in the red zone, and soon after he scored from three yards out on a sprint right option play Gase used with Peyton Manning a lot during his time in Denver.

Ty Montgomery filled in nicely for Le’Veon Bell, who Gase decided to sit for the opener. Montgomery showed how the Jets will use him and Bell in both the rushing and passing offense. He ran twice for seven yards and also caught a pass out of the backfield for three to set up the Crowder touchdown.

This display wasn’t even the Jets offense at full strength. Bell didn’t play, and Darnold’s top two outside receivers Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson, were targeted only once between the two. The line also missed center Ryan Kalil while he gets worked back into shape, and guard Brian Winters quickly exited with a shoulder injury.

If that drive was the Jets at only 75 percent, they could be even deadlier with their entire offense on the field. Yes, this was one drive in a preseason football game against a defense likely not playing at full speed. But what Darnold and the rest of the offense showed in their short time on the field Thursday should be a solid indication of what the team is capable of doing in the regular season.

It’s an encouraging start, but there is still work to be done before Week 1 against the Bills.