New York Jets: Bilal Powell return will spark offense vs. Dolphins

New York Jets running back Bilal Powell will return vs. Dolphins in Week 7, and he’s a much-needed piece for the Jets to be successful on Sunday and onward.

In two of their first six games, the New York Jets faced two of the worst run defenses in the NFL. In Week 4, the Jets faced the Jaguars, the 28th ranked defense against the run coming into that game. The Jets ran up and down the field against Jacksonville to the tune of 256 yards and two touchdowns, and they almost had two 100-yard rushers in the same game.

Running back Bilal Powell gave them 163 yards and a touchdown in that game. Last week against the Patriots was a vastly different story, however.

Powell was absent due to injury and, despite facing another team that had allowed 100+ yards rushing per game heading into the game, no Jets running back could muster more that 22 yards. No one back found the end zone, either.

Now they face the Miami Dolphins in Week 7. The Dolphins enter the week with the fourth best run defense in the NFL, allowing only 80.4 yards per game, and they’re sixth in the league with an average of 3.5 yards per carry allowed. With that said, Powell should be back in the fold.

Powell provides something the other running backs on the Jets don’t provide. The other running backs are smaller than him, falling into the category of being speed backs. Meanwhile, Powell gives the Jets a combination of adequate speed with power that the others don’t. It gives the Jets a thunder and lightning quality to their running game.

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His presence also gives them two things. First, he gives them a power runner for short yardage situations. The second is that his ability to gain the short yardage opens the play action on the short yardage plays. Therefore, it keeps their whole playbook open. The return of Powell come just in time, in a must-win game for the Jets.