The Jets don’t need a miracle to get their ground game moving again. They may just need to stop banging their heads into the middle of the Bears’ defense and start stretching things out to the edges.
That matters even more with Breece Hall likely sidelined for Week 4. The good news is Hall is week-to-week with a quad injury, but New York is still expected to turn to Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis to carry the load against Chicago. For a 1-2 team trying to clean up a few problem areas, getting the run game right is high on the list.
The numbers tell the story of a unit that started fast and then stalled out. The Jets ran for 152 yards against the Titans in Week 1, then dropped to 67 rushing yards in Week 2 and 58 against the Lions. That kind of slide is a problem for an offense that wants the run game to be a real part of its identity.
The Bears may offer a path back to efficiency. In Week 3 against Chicago, Saquon Barkley found room on outside runs, especially early.
He had 11 carries for 73 yards in the first half, good for 6.6 yards per carry, before the game script shifted and he was limited to four carries for nine yards after halftime. Even so, Barkley logged five runs of at least five yards on outside plays, according to NextGenStats, and four of those came to the left side.
That wasn’t a one-game fluke. Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard also found success working that side in Week 1, picking up 49 yards on 10 carries and posting three outside-zone runs to the left that gained at least five yards, per NGS. In Week 2, Minnesota’s Aaron Jones piled up 105 yards on 23 carries, and while the Vikings leaned more on inside runs, the same pattern showed up again: positive yardage to the left.
That should give New York a clear idea of where to probe.
Through three games, Frank Reich has leaned toward runs between the tackles, but that approach hasn’t produced much lately. With the interior offensive line struggling over the past two weeks, the Jets may need a different look.
Dylan Parham is dealing with a knee injury, and New York may have to start Jordan Meredith at left guard. Instead of pounding away behind Meredith and Josh Myers, the Jets would make more sense trying to get their tackles, Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, into the action more often while using tight ends to help block in space.
The path is there. The Jets just have to take it.
In Other News...
Jets Enter Bears Game With Aaron Glenn Facing A Major Problem
Aaron Glenns first few weeks on the job have already featured the kind of injury churn that can test a new coaching staff, and the Week 4 trip to face the Chicago Bears brings another round of roster uncertainty. The Jets ruled out wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, running back Breece Hall, guard Dylan Parham, tight end Mason Taylor and linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, trimming depth on both sides of the ball as they try to keep the season moving in the right direction.
Hall and Parham were already expected to miss after the previous game, but Mitchell and Taylor had been in limbo for much of the week, leaving Glenn to sort through a lineup that keeps shifting late in the process. Edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare is also dealing with a knee injury and remains limited in practice, adding another question mark to a defense that can least afford to be thin going into a matchup with the Bears. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans May Not Be Done Hearing About Tom Brady Yet
Tom Bradys name keeps finding its way back into the conversation, even after his retirement following the 2022 season. In a recent interview, Lars Anderson, author of a Brady biography, suggested the seven-time Super Bowl winner may look back on the way his career ended and feel some regret, raising the kind of speculation that never really dies when Brady is involved.
For Jets fans, it is the sort of chatter that brings an old rival back into the frame, at least hypothetically, because any comeback discussion would immediately invite thoughts about scheduling and what it could mean for New York. Brady has not responded to the comments, and there is no real sign of a return, but the very fact the possibility is being floated is enough to keep the topic alive a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Defense Gets A Needed Boost At The Perfect Time
Minkah Fitzpatrick is set to rejoin the Jets for their Week 4 matchup with the Bears after missing time with a groin injury, giving New York a defensive presence it has been missing. He was a full participant in practice and said he is ready to go, a welcome development for a unit that has been looking for more takeaways lately.
Fitzpatricks return comes at a timely moment for a Jets defense that has had trouble creating interceptions, and his ability to track the ball could help change that. Against Chicago, the Jets will be counting on him not just to fill a spot, but to lift a secondary that needs a jolt. [Read more 🡒]