Michael Carter broke out and then some in Week 8.
The rookie running back tallied a career-high 172 total yards in the Jets’ 34-31 win over the Bengals. He was the team’s No. 1 threat out of the backfield and through the air, tallying a team-high 29 touches. He rushed 15 times for 77 yards and a touchdown and caught nine receptions on 14 targets for 96 yards.
That performance set a few franchise firsts. Carter became one of only five Jets rookies to finish a game with at least 170 scrimmage yards and the first since Joe McKnight put up 173 yards in 2011. Carter is also the first Jets rookie with at least 100 scrimmage yards in consecutive games since Freeman McNeil in 1981. Carter put up 104 yards in Week 7.
The 22-year-old is also the youngest Jet to ever have more than 170 yards in a game.
“I think that goes to his study habits, his practice habits, his habits after practice and everything,” fellow running back Ty Johnson said of Carter after the game. “I think it’s all been showing up essentially. He’s a rookie, but he’s taken it as a vet.”
Carter’s ability to affect the game in multiple ways put him in exclusive company. He became the first running back since New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara in Week 2 of the 2020 season with at least 75 rushing yards and 90 receiving yards. The list of the other running backs to do that since 2018 is equally impressive: Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler and James White are the only others to accomplish what Carter did this past week.
“As a receiver, when the ball came to me, I just tried to make a play,” Carter said. “You can’t tense up in this league. I just made the plays like I know how.”
Carter is arguably the Jets’ most explosive offensive player. Though he started slowly in a three-back rotation with Johnson and Tevin Coleman, Carter has seen his snap share steadily increase. He played a season-high 59 snaps in Week 8 and now leads the team in rushing attempts (73), receptions (26) and total yards (505). He’s also scored three touchdowns, which is second behind only Core Davis’ four.
“Michael Carter has been hard to tackle all season,” Robert Saleh said Sunday. “He made some big, big plays to the point where he was never down.”
The Jets are getting exactly what they wanted when they picked Carter in the fourth round last April. He’s dynamic, multi-faceted and capable of making plays all over the field. Week 8 was just an amalgamation of his abilities and the Jets are seeing the dividends midway through the season.
“I feel myself growing as a player,” Carter said. “I’m going to just continue to get better each day.”
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