Breece Hall’s emergence in the Jets’ offense is the bright spot for Gang Green this season. It’s not an overstatement to say that New York is having another disappointing season this year. The team is coming off an embarrassing 37-20 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football. With the loss, the team dropped to 6-10 on the season and are once again looking at a lost campaign. However, some good came out of this underwhelming season.
Hall’s abilities as a runner and a pass catcher give the Jets blueprints on how to use him in 2024. For the majority of the year, Hall wasn’t on the field in third down situations. Before they let him go, New York used Michael Carter as their guy on clear passing downs.
Breece Hall Proving To Be A Three-Down Back
After releasing Carter, New York went to free agent signee Dalvin Cook on passing downs initially. Recently, Breece Hall has been the guy for passing downs on the offense. Since then, he has been producing on that end for the Jets.
Hall has put up 48 receptions for 333 yards with three receiving touchdowns in the last seven games. In the first nine games of the season Breece Hall only had 26 receptions for 246 yards and one touchdown. It’s clear that the Jets are using Hall more often and he is responding well as of late.
Early, Breece Hall’s playing time was limited for a bit as he was recovering from an ACL injury in October 2022. Now, he looks like himself on the field. For the season, Hall has 816 yards, four touchdowns, and 74 receptions. Hall was outstanding on Christmas Eve against the Washington Commanders with two touchdowns and 12 receptions. He also had 95 yards rushing in that game.
When trailing in the fourth quarter, Gang Green has been relying on Breece Hall. His production was slashed by the loss of Aaron Rodgers in Week 1 against the Bills. The entire Jets offense was doomed when Rodgers went down with a season-ending Achilles injury. The Jets know that they have to continue to use Breece Hall effectively on offense.
The Key to the New York Jets Future
Hall’s production has been the lone bright spot for the Jets despite another disappointing season. This year has been darkness for Gang Green, beginning with Rodgers’s season-ending injury in Week 1 and constant shuffling on the offensive line. This year is the 13th consecutive season where the Jets will miss the playoffs.
Hall producing 191 yards of total offense against Washington on Christmas Eve showed why he is a critical part of the Jets’ future. Hall is a player on the offense that opposing defenses have to worry about, alongside Garrett Wilson. After the Jets loss on Thursday night against the Browns, Breece Hall said on X “Get ya’ll laughs out now. Ain’t gon be like this forever.” If Rodgers comes out strong along with an emerging Hall, Hall’s boast will come to fruition.
Breece Hall has the most scrimmage yards since Brandon Marshall (1,502) in 2015 with one game left on the season. Also, he became the 12th running back in Jets history to surpass 1,390 all-purpose yards in a season. Hall led the team as a rookie with 463 yards rushing and put up 218 yards receiving and has been a key player on the offense since his rookie year.
The Jets will conclude their season against division-rival New England Patriots in Week 17.
Main Photo: Scott Galvin – USA Today Sports
