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It’s safe to say Robert Saleh wasn’t pleased following the New York Jets’ 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5.
When asked about the struggles in the run game, Saleh angrily fired off a message.
“The run game clearly is not good enough,” Saleh told the media on Sunday, October 6. “It felt like coming out of training camp it was going to be a strength for us and obviously it hasn’t been that way.”
The green and white carried the rock 14 times for 36 rushing yards. As a team, Gang Green averaged 2.6 yards per carry. The longest rush of the game was only 10 yards.
A Dream Pairing Has Been a Disaster for the Jets
Hall entered the season as the No. 2 ranked running back in football only behind San Francisco 49ers standout Christian McCaffrey, per ESPN.
“Hall is considered the game’s best running back under the age of 25, with big upside on Year 3 projections,” ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler wrote back in July.
However, he has been anything but during the 2024 season. Hall ran the ball nine times for 23 yards against the Vikings, which led the team. It was much better than his effort against the Denver Broncos where he ran for a career-low four rushing yards, but that isn’t saying much.
Hall wasn’t the only one who struggled, Braelon Allen couldn’t get anything going either. Allen toted the rock only five times for 13 rushing yards.
That lack of a running game has made the Jets a one-dimensional offense. This has put all the pressure on Aaron Rodgers to save the day when everyone knows he is dropping back to pass.
Not a recipe for success.
Jets Might Undergo an Offensive Philosophy Change Moving Forward
Through the first five weeks of the NFL season, the Jets have rushed for 407 yards on 119 rushing attempts. That is a measly average of 3.42 yards per carry.
In other words, the Jets running game has failed, regardless of who has been toting the rock.
Rodgers after the game was asked what had gone wrong with that part of the offense.
“Yeah I mean we have to figure out exactly what are best runs are based on the first five games. You know we’ve tried to establish the run in most of these games early and sometimes you have to switch it up and maybe throw to establish the run,” Rodgers responded.
After the game, Saleh was asked if the Vikings getting a 17-0 lead was the reason why they gave up on running the football in this game.
“Well, they are a pressure system. They are pretty aggressive upfront in the box. Toward the end [of the game] we were down two scores going into that fourth quarter, so it was time to step on it,” Saleh said.
Saleh was ready to talk silver linings after the game, but Garrett Wilson breaking out was certainly one of them.
He finished the game with 13 receptions for 101 receiving yards and a score. Honestly, he could have had even better numbers than that if there weren’t a few issues throughout the game.
Some plays were miscommunication, or Rodgers just ran out of time, or Wilson slipped on the field.
With a potential identity change, this Wilson breakout could be a sign of things to come.
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