In Blowout Win, Jets Get Major Contribution From Le'Veon Bell
After a season of frustration, Le’Veon Bell is enjoying that these young New York Jets get a taste of winning. It is also significant that Bell made an impact in Sunday’s game, a potential breakout that could spur the suddenly soaring Jets.
The Jets have won three games in a row, the latest a 34-3 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday to lift their record to 4-7. And while the playoffs are likely a bit out of reach for this team, the Jets are nonetheless playing good football. Heading into Sunday’s game against Oakland, the Jets had consecutive wins over the New York Giants and Washington, two teams who have among the worst records in the NFL.
In beating Oakland, there is a pivotal moment for the rebuilding Jets as it came against a team that is squarely in the mix for the playoffs. Yet the Jets also got a major contribution from Bell, something they’ve been looking for all season.
Bell had 108 yards in total offense. His 49 rushing yards on 12 carries was nearly a full yard more per rushing attempt than his season average. The team’s big name offseason signing in free agency has struggled to make a regular impact on the offense. That wasn’t the case against the Raiders.
They were not gaudy numbers, certainly, but it was the type of day that points to Bell growing into an emerging part of an offense that has clicked over the last three games.
“It feels amazing. They are joking with me all day because I feel good right now, I feel crazy,” Bell said.
“I’m just glad everything is coming together, guys are playing well, we didn’t turn the ball over, got a couple turnovers, got some hits on the quarterback, offensive line doing well. I can’t complain. We’re playing good football right now.”
This was just the third time all season that Bell topped triple digits in total offense (121 yards in a Week 9 loss at the Miami Dolphins and 129 yards in a Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns).
For a major offseason free agent signing, it is good to see Brown have such an impact.
Of course, the lack of production doesn’t fall squarely on Brown’s shoulders. He is being hit frequently in the backfield as the offensive line has struggled to open holes for the ground game. It has no doubt been a frustrating first year in New York for Bell.
But if there is frustration, Bell isn’t letting on.
“It means everything in the world to me just because I knew what this group could do. We’re not done, I hope we still get better, we played good enough today to win the game but we didn’t play a perfect game so, we’re going to watch the film and clean up a lot of things, and continue to get better,” Bell said.
“I think we have the Bengals next week so that’s me knowing we should go in there and feel confident about ourselves to go in there and play well in Cincinnati and try and stack another win.”
