The NY Jets running game is a disaster and it's worse than you think

The NY Jets' offense has had its fair share of struggles so far in 2024, and while it's easy to point fingers at the quarterback, the root of the team's issues is the running game.

The Jets have the worst running game in football through five games. They have 402 rushing yards as a team, a number that ranks dead last in the NFL. Their 3.6 yards per carry is third-worst among all 32 teams, and the underlying numbers are even more troubling.

The Jets are actually facing very few stacked boxes in 2024. Their 14.2% stacked-box rate ranks 28th in the NFL. Whether that's because teams are respecting their passing game more or because they know they don't need to load up the box to stop the run, the result is the same.

This hasn't helped their rushing efficiency, however. They rank 29th in EPA per rush, 27th in percentage of rushes for zero/negative yards, and 32nd in yards before contact per rush.

That should be impossible. No NFL offense can function with this sort of a running game. And it's the biggest reason why the Jets are sitting at 2-3 through five weeks.

The NY Jets' running game is derailing their entire offense

The Jets can't survive with a 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers throwing 54 passes each week, which is exactly what he did in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings. Heck, Rodgers can't survive like that. He's already dealing with two separate injuries — a direct result of his team's one-dimensional offense.

Who's to blame? With a running game this bad, there is no one individual culprit. Instead, it's a collection of factors conspiring to keep the Jets' offense stagnant. The offensive line, the running backs, and the coaching staff are all at fault.

Let's start with the obvious. The Jets currently have the third-worst run-blocking offense in the NFL through five weeks, per Pro Football Focus. Only the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders have struggled more in that area.

The issue is that many of the Jets' offensive line issues aren't talent-related. The Jets' offensive line is a miscommunication nightmare. Every week, there’s some sort of breakdown in assignments — whether it’s blown blocks, players out of position, or simply a lack of awareness.

It’s not just about who’s on the field but how they’re working together, and right now, it’s a mess. With three new starters, there was an expectation that it would take some time to gel together as a unit. Except, they've gotten worse as the season has progressed.

That suggests the coaching staff is at least partially — if not largely — to blame for the offensive line issues. But the Jets' blocking woes extend beyond the offensive line.

The Jets easily have the worst run-blocking tight end room in the NFL. Jeremy Ruckert's 41.0 PFF run-block grade ranks dead last among all tight ends with at least 70 blocking snaps. Third-string tight end Brenden Bates would rank second-worst if he played enough snaps to qualify.

Ruckert and Bates are specifically on the roster as supposed "blocking tight ends." They're here to make up for Tyler Conklin's (PFF's sixth-worst run-blocking tight end) lack of blocking ability. Instead, they've become blocking liabilities while offering nothing in the passing game.

This shouldn't absolve the running backs of any criticism, either. While rookie Braelon Allen has impressed and exceeded expectations in limited opportunities, the same can't be said about Breece Hall.

Hall currently ranks dead last among qualified running backs with an abysmal 35.4% rushing success rate. Part of that is absolutely due to his offensive line. After all, Hall is still averaging 2.8 yards per carry after contact.

That said, Hall has been bad independent of his situation. The third-year running back is currently averaging -0.05 rushing yards over expected per carry. That's well below average for his position, suggesting he's at least partially to blame for his struggles.

Hall hasn't been quite as bad as his regular box score numbers would suggest, but he's also taken a sizable step back from the level he was at a year ago. The Jets faced almost double the amount of stacked boxes in 2023 than they have in 2024. You'd never know by looking at Hall's production.

Part of the issue is also the design of the offense. The Jets are the only team in the NFL not to have an explosive play out of play action this season. They rank near the bottom of the league in pre-snap motion. They run an archaic offense — one that looks out of place in today's NFL.

The Jets rank bottom-five in play action and pre-snap motion. They're near the bottom of the NFL in average depth of target. They rank third in drops and don't have a quarterback who can keep defenses honest with his legs.

That's not a recipe for success in 2024, and it's largely why their running game is struggling despite the talent they have on their roster. That's coaching. That's Nathaniel Hackett, Keith Carter, etc.

The Jets possess the talent to boast one of the NFL's most potent rushing attacks. In fact, they were one of the better rushing teams in football in 2023 behind an injury-riddled mess of an offensive line and no respectable passing game.

It shouldn't be this bad. It can't be this bad. But until it gets better, this Jets offense will continue to resemble its 2023 iteration more than its 2024 ceiling.