Leading up to Week 5, New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh put all of his confidence in RB Breece Hall, announcing that he’d be taking the reins off of the second-year rusher. Hall took off running with his new workload en route to a dominant performance in New York’s 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos last Sunday.
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There was no stopping Hall all game. His numbers jump off of the stat sheet. Going for a career-high 177 rush yards on 22 carries and one rushing touchdown, Hall put his footprints all over Empower Field at Mile High.
The highlight of his eye-popping afternoon came on 1st and 10 at the top of the third quarter. The Jets’ offensive line gave Hall a sizable hole which he took full advantage of, bursting up the middle for a 72-yard TD rush.
Momentum from a strong first half opened the door for Hall to give the Jets the lead early in the third. The Iowa State product did more than exploit open looks. He wowed by evading tackles and getting the better of Denver’s defenders.
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Hall got going with a 10-yard gain from a screen pass in the first quarter that he converted into a first down. The second quarter is where Hall found his rhythm. He showed off his lateral quickness on a 19-yard rush off of an outside hand-off from QB Zach Wilson, making a defender miss in the process.
Hall was not done breaking ankles. He got shifty on 2nd & 5 at the 11:30 mark, cutting left and forcing Broncos CB Damarri Mathis to get well acquainted with the turf, putting on full display textbook hip movement and footwork.
Hall racked up 50 yards in that 11-yard drive that resulted in a field goal and narrowed the score to 10-8 shortly before the half. He would meet resistance in the red zone midway through the third but finished the outing strong.
One thing we did not see from Hall was extra yardage gained after contact. When you go for 177 yards on the ground, that can be overlooked. Most importantly, Hall showed that he has a wide array of moves in his arsenal.
Hall got to the outside, charged through holes created by the O-Line, capitalized off of footwork, and outran the Broncos’ secondary after blazing past their front seven. The Jets should feel very comfortable with Hall as their featured back as they look to reach .500 in Week 6 against the defending NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles.