After each game, we’ll be highlighting three defensive and three offensive players and looking in detail at their performance. We’ll wrap up today with the offense:
The Great Khalil
You may not have noticed, but Khalil Herbert – a 27-year old veteran running back with five 100 yard rushing performances at the NFL level – actually played seven games for the Jets this year, having been on the active roster ever since Braelon Allen’s injury.
He didn’t play his first offensive snap until week 15 and had carried the ball just four times for 10 yards entering Sunday’s game. During that time, he had also had two targets, both incomplete with one dropped, made two tackles on special teams and returned a kickoff 22 yards.
With Breece Hall out, he finally got a chance for some decent playing time on Sunday. Being an experienced back who had produced in the past, was completely fresh and was running behind a healthy line, one might have expected more from Herbert. However, with Brady Cook at the helm, the box was usually stacked and this meant Herbert was kept in check with just 42 yards on 12 carries.
Herbert did account for two first downs, one of which came as he plowed up the middle on 3rd-and-3. The other was one of his better runs of the day, as he showed good patience to reach to line-to-gain on 2nd-and-5.
His longest run of the day was this seven-yarder which almost saw him convert on 3rd-and-8 with a good cutback, but ultimately had him marked just short.
Herbert was also thrown to twice, catching one short pass. All in all, it wasn’t a very productive performance, although let’s give him some credit: Those 46 yards from scrimmage were basically twice as many as anyone else (Isaiah Williams had 24).
He’s a free agent now, but it’s perhaps not impossible he could return to compete to have a similar role next season.
Skinner you alive
It was great to be able to see undrafted rookie receiver Quinton Skinner finally make his NFL debut. The preseason star had been on the practice squad all year without being elevated but signed to the roster on the eve of the season finale and remains under contract for next year.
He had a few nice moments too! This was his first NFL catch as he did a good job of getting to an open area on 3rd-and-3 then turning upfield for extra yardage, albeit against a soft defense. That kept the Jets’ only scoring drive alive.
After the touchdown, Skinner got on the board himself with a two-point conversation that was a really nice play from him. Yes, it was a nice diving catch, but perhaps more important than this was how he got open, crossing the defender’s face, leaning on him to maintain leverage and then fading to the corner with his man trapped on his hip.
For Skinner, who is built a bit like Robby Chosen in terms of how thin he is, it’s good to see him not get out-physicalled on that kind of route and perhaps is a sign he’s added strength since the start of the season even though he still looks lanky.
That said, his blocking needs a little work. He missed one on a screen block in space and failed to get across in time to seal off a linebacker as he crashed down on another play.
It’s a shame the Jets weren’t able to get Jamaal Pritchett out there too in a similar capacity but he will at least be back having signed a futures deal. Hopefully they both show further progress in 2026.
Smartt too broad
Stone Smartt barely played all season, but finally got a chance to contribute over the past few weeks with Mason Taylor out. He had flashed a few times with his pass catching ability.
This week, on 30 snaps, he wasn’t targeted, but this gives us a chance to assess his blocking and try to determine if he’s anything more than a receiver in a tight end’s body.
His blocking was a mixed bag, to be fair. He had a handful of plays where he made a functional block – one on the edge, one at the second level, a couple where he drove his man back. However, none of these were major pluses for him because of course nobody broke any long runs.
He did have a few negatives, notably on 4th-and-1 where his man stood him up and was able to get in on the stop to stuff a quarterback sneak near midfield. He also didn’t sustain his block on this play that his man blew up.
It really wasn’t a total loss though, even though he likely graded out negative overall. With the pass catching chops he’s already displayed, Smartt may have more to offer than we’ve had a chance to see in 2025.
Smartt only signed a one-year deal so may not be back. However, the tight end position is perhaps one where the Jets might not look to use many resources in the offseason, so a return could make sense for him.
Previously: Three on D: Womack, K. Smith, Jonathan