Breece Lightning Strikes in Jets' Season Opener
Breece Hall is back.
The New York Jets' second-year ball carrier emphatically answered any questions about the health of his surgically-repaired ACL on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills.
Despite a partial workload in his first regular season game since injuring his knee last October 23, Hall was both electrifying and highly productive in Gang Green's season-opening overtime victory over the three-time defending AFC East champion Bills.
"Once I got on the field, I was like, ‘I’m still that dude. Anytime I touch the ball, I can do whatever I want with it,'" said Hall.
The 2022 second-round draft pick gained 147 yards from scrimmage in only 17 offensive snaps on Monday. Hall rushed 10 times for 127 yards and made one 20-yard reception, going against a Bills' defense that ranked fifth in the league in rush yards allowed last year.
"Excited for him. He had a couple of big runs, a big screen. He is only going to get bigger, better, and stronger," said Jets' third-year head coach Robert Saleh after the 22-16 win.
Hall showed explosion on the Jets' first offensive snap of the season, ripping off a 26-yard run that brought the ball out to the 38-yard line.
He didn't take his next handoff until early in the second quarter when he flipped the field on an 83-yard gainer. Starting at their own 4-yard line, the Jets stacked the formation with two tight ends lined up on the right side. Hall hit the hole over right tackle and blew past a diving attempt by Bills' cornerback Tre White into the open field. Cornerback Christian Benford finally chased him down and made the stop at the Bills' 13.
"Breece looked good. I’m going to mess with him a little for getting caught on one," said Saleh. "He’s still getting his legs back, but he has such great vision and burst."
Hall converted a 2nd-and-3 on the Jets' first second-half possession, which ended in a Greg Zuerlein field goal that cut the Bills' lead to 13-6. The second-year pro caught a short screen pass to the right and ran 20 yards to the Buffalo 36.
With Dalvin Cook and Michael Carter also in the mix, Hall was on the field for 31 percent of the team's offensive snaps.
"I was just happy the coaches stuck with me today," said Hall. "They said I was going to have a pitch count before the game, but I told them I don’t want a pitch count, but if I have to, I will."
Cook (27 snaps) participated in exactly half of the Jets' 54 plays from scrimmage while Carter saw 12 reps in Week 1. Fifth-round rookie running back Israel Abanikanda was a gameday inactive.
In 6.5 games prior to his ACL tear, Hall gained 681 scrimmage yards on 99 touches as a rookie.
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