For most of the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon, as the Jets battled the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, it was clear what the No. 2 offseason priority should be for coach Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey as they play out the final half of this season with an eye on 2026.
Finding a quarterback is obviously the move that will make or break this new regime. But surrounding him with the right weapons will be almost as important. And in the fourth quarter of this game, running back Breece Hall looked like a weapon that must be a part of their future.
As the offense struggled in the second half, Hall was the only bright spot, single-handedly carrying the offense down the field 65 yards on three plays to put the Jets within a few feet of being within three points of the heavily favored Ravens midway through the fourth quarter. But just as Hall seemed on the verge of carrying a Ravens defender into the end zone, he fumbled the ball away at the 2 sealing the Jets’ fate in a 23-10 loss to the Ravens.
The Jets fans who want their team to keep losing to stay in the race for a top pick will shrug it off as a good day. Their team didn’t embarrass itself and showed hope for the future. But as Hall sat devastated on the sideline, with a towel over his head, it was hard to feel like this had been helpful to the Jets future.
Hall has proven himself as one of the better running backs in the league, despite facing defenses that have attacked him aggressively because of the Jets’ lackluster quarterback play. But when the Jets opted not to deal him, after months of rumors to the contrary, in their franchise-altering trade deadline selloff earlier this month, it started to look more and more like he could be an important part of their future. And in recent weeks, the argument has become stronger that he should be.
Hall made the only winning play for the offense in their win over the Browns in Week 10, taking a screen pass 42 yards for what turned out to be the game winning touchdown. And with quarterback Tyrod Taylor taking over for the benched Justin Fields on Sunday, the Jets once again called on Hall late and he delivered. Until he didn’t.
The fumble doesn’t change the fact that Hall is a great weapon who can help the Jets win now and in the future with likely a few years left in his prime. And it will only guarantee that he will be affordable for the Jets, who have plenty of cap space.
But it’s part of a troubling trend that Hall has taken hard in recent years. His critical fumble in the Week 1 loss to the Steelers changed that game completely late in the third quarter and arguably set the tone for the season.
The Jets got rid of a lot of their losing baggage when they traded away cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quincy Williams three weeks ago. But for a fresh start, they need to stop making the same kinds of losing plays that have been so painful for them in the past. So while a better draft draft pick for a college player is a nice thing to have, it would have been better for the Jets to not have their only healthy established weapon clearly shaken on the sideline after another big mistake.
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