Here’s a little fact you didn’t need to read Jets X-Factor to learn: The New York Jets’ offense stunk in 2025—royally so.
New York’s offense found the end zone just 26 times, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL. There were a myriad of reasons for that, but one of the most paramount was a complete inability to generate explosive plays.
In 17 games, the Jets had just five plays of more than 40 yards. Only the Panthers (4) had fewer.
It was a surprising result for a team that employs the likes of Breece Hall, who emerged as one of the best home-run threats in the NFL over his first three seasons. From 2022 to 2024, Hall had nine plays of more than 40 yards. This came over 40 games, meaning he averaged one play of >40 yards every 4.4 games.
But in 2025, Hall had just two plays of >40 yards in 17 games, an average of one every 8.5 games. Essentially, his frequency of game-breaking plays was sliced in half.
Hall also failed to record a play of over 60 yards, something he did four times over his first three seasons.
Despite this, Hall had a fantastic 2025 season overall. He set a career-high in rushing yards (1,065) and cut his fumbles down to two after having six in 2024.
The most notable aspect of Hall’s successful season, though, was his consistency, not his explosiveness. Hall shattered his career-high for total rushing first downs, collecting 57 after peaking at 40 in each of the last two seasons. His rushing success rate of 49.8% was his highest since the 50% mark he posted as a rookie, and well above his 42.8% rate over the past two seasons.
In Year 4, Hall showed maturation as a running back, growing into a consistent down-to-down runner. His running style shifted in the direction of north-south as opposed to east-west, and when it was time to finish runs, he did it with more authority than ever before. These developments helped him do a much better job of chaining positive gains from carry to carry.
However, the improved consistency came at the cost of a lower ceiling. Hall was less apt than ever before at producing those grand-slam plays that can end a drive in one play, whether it was as a receiver or runner. The Jets dearly missed those plays from Hall. The lack of them put pressure on their weak passing game to lead long, methodical scoring drives.
As the Jets seek a significant jump from the second-fewest plays of >40 yards in 2026, Hall will bear the brunt of the responsibility. He has shown in the past that he can rack up those plays as well as anyone. In 2025, they weren’t there, despite other improvements in his game.
Looking forward to 2026, Hall has a chance to bring everything together and become one of the best all-around playmakers in football. He took a step forward as a player in 2025, showing the best down-to-down consistency of his career. If he can maintain that while returning to his typical rate of grand-slam plays, he will put himself in the conversation to be the most dangerous running back in the league.
