The New York Jets have some breakable team records
The history of the New York Jets is littered with more whiffs than misses on personnel. Accordingly, many of their single-season team records are not all that impressive, especially in passing categories. A team that has been waiting for its savior since Joe Namath has hardly any impressive milestones to show for itself.
Therefore, there are many single-season team records that are there for the taking for the Jets this season — if only they can stay healthy. This is the best Jets roster since 1998. Here are the Jets single-season records that are most likely to be broken in 2024. Unsurprisingly, every single one is an offensive record.
10. Scrimmage yards
The Jets’ rushing yards record may be out of reach, as Curtis Martin had 1,697 yards on a whopping 371 carries in 2004. Derrick Henry led the NFL with 280 carries in 2023, and even if Breece Hall matched that mark (which is highly unlikely with Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis in the backfield), he would need to average 6.1 yards per carry to break Martin’s record.
Therefore, Martin’s 1,942 scrimmage yards record from 2004 is far more within reach for Hall. He had 1,585 scrimmage yards in 2023 behind the worst offensive line in the NFL. Hall averaged 14.6 carries and 5.5 receptions per game from Week 5 on when the Jets took off the training wheels. If he kept up his career averages of 4.8 yards per carry and 8.5 yards per reception with those same rushing and receiving averages, he would finish the year with 1,986 scrimmage yards. It is highly unlikely that Hall will finish the season with 93 receptions (which was his pace from Week 5 on in 2023), but he may get back to a higher yards-per-carry average in 2024.
I don’t consider this super likely, but it’s possible.
9. Yards per carry
This is tricky because it depends on what your threshold for the number of carries is. Technically, Bilal Powell holds the team record with 5.5 yards per carry in 2012, but he had just 131 carries. Still, that’s generally enough carries for a running back to qualify across the NFL, so we’ll go with Powell’s mark. The next-highest mark was Freeman McNeil’s 5.2 in 1982.
Hall certainly has the capability to average more than 5.5 yards per carry. He was at 5.8 in his rookie season, and he’s averaged 6.08 yards per carry in the 12 games he played along with Alijah Vera-Tucker. With the Jets’ improved blocking and switch to a gap scheme, Hall has a chance to explode. Still, no back with more than 120 carries in 2023 averaged more than 5.4 yards per carry, making that a steep uphill climb for Hall.
8. Receiving touchdowns
Brandon Marshall’s magical 2015 season included tying the Jets’ all-time record with 14 receiving touchdowns. The other player to do so was Hall of Famer Don Maynard in 1965.
Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams are the only two players who could realistically threaten this mark. Wilson has just 7 receiving touchdowns in 34 career games, but he’s caught passes from the likes of Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle, and Trevor Siemian. Meanwhile, Williams’ career high is 10 touchdown receptions in 2018. It doesn’t seem likely that either of these players will break the record, but with Rodgers throwing the football, it’s possible.
7. Rushing touchdowns
Thomas Jones surprisingly holds this record with 13 touchdown runs in 2008. Hall has only 5 rushing touchdowns in 24 career games, but with better blocking, he could find himself in the end zone far more often.
6. Completion percentage
Although NFL completion percentages rose more sharply in the 2010s, Chad Pennington holds the Jets’ record in this area at 68.9% in 2002. Rodgers seems unlikely to break this record, as he’s only broken that mark once and tied it once in his career. Still, with a career completion percentage of 65.3%, it’s not completely out of his range.
5. Receiving yards
Marshall’s 1,502 receiving yards in 2015 is the Jets record. With Rodgers’ preference to funnel targets to his No. 1 receiver, Garrett Wilson has a chance to break this record. I think Rodgers will spread it around too much for Wilson to ultimately break it, but considering that Davante Adams had 1,553 yards in 2021, it could happen.
4. Passer rating
Pennington had a highly underrated 2002 season, as he set the Jets’ record with a 104.1 passer rating. Rodgers has exceeded that mark in seven full seasons throughout his career, which means it’s a possibility.
3. Passing touchdowns
Astoundingly, Ryan Fitzpatrick holds this Jets record with 31 touchdowns in 2015. Rodgers has thrown for more than 31 touchdowns only six times, so there’s no guarantee he’ll break it. I predicted he’ll throw 29, falling short of the Jets record but tying Vinny Testaverde (1998) for the second-most.
2. Receptions
I actually think Wilson could easily break this record. Marshall is the only Jets receiver ever to break the century mark, posting 109 grabs in 2015. Wilson has caught 83 and 95 balls in his first two seasons while catching the ball from horrid quarterbacks. If Williams stays healthy, that could take away some targets from Wilson, but his catch rate will undoubtedly be higher than his 58.9% mark through two seasons.
1. Passing yards
It’s astounding that Joe Namath was the first quarterback ever to throw for 4,000 yards in a season — and he remains the only Jets quarterback ever to do it. The closest anyone ever got to Namath’s 4,007 from 1967 was Fitzpatrick in 2015 with 3,905. When an NFL journeyman holds one of your team’s most critical single-season records, it shows the depths of despair endured at the position.
Even if Rodgers stays healthy and plays all 17 games, there’s no guarantee he’ll throw for over 4,007 yards. He had only 3,695 in 2022, after all. Still, he’s beaten that mark in 10 of his 13 full seasons as a starter, making him a good bet to break Namath’s team record. My prediction for him is 4,262 yards, clearing Namath by a nice margin.
