Breece Hall's knee acted up out of the Indianapolis game, making him a DNP at Wednesday's practice and a question mark for Sunday's return to action from the bye week against Seattle at MetLife Stadium.
Hall's status for the game isn't a slam dunk, but after he went through limited work Thursday, IHC Jeff Ulbrich said his bellcow back "looked really good" at Friday's practice and "is trending in the right direction." But regardless of No. 20's availability for the Seahawks' 22nd-ranked run defense, he continues to make his mark in his third NFL season with the Green & White.
Against the Colts, he had a 29-yard touchdown reception and an 18-yard TD run within 2:18 of gameclock time, a 1-2 punch that nevertheless left him unfulfilled as he was asked about his connection with QB Aaron Rodgers and contemplated the 28-27 loss to Indy.
"It's just frustrating because you make big plays but you don't win, so it doesn't matter," he said.
But Hall's big plays get noticed. As Rodgers has said, "He's a talented player. We've got to get the ball in his hands." And as fellow 2022 high-round draft pick Garrett Wilson said: "He's one of one. ... He does his part to make it come together."
To get ready for a hoped-for Hall start vs. the 'Hawks, consider that with his 29-yard TD catch-and-run, he climbed to the top of another Jets top list. His 8 scrimmage plays of 25-plus yards for touchdowns are the most in franchise history, breaking the mark he and Freeman McNeil held at 7, with Curtis Martin's 6 not far behind. Here are the top seven in franchise history:
| Jets RB | Jets Career | 25+Plays | 25+TDRuns | 25+TDRecs | 25+TotTDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breece Hall | 2022-24 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Freeman McNeil | 1981-92 | 38 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Curtis Martin | 1998-2005 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Emerson Boozer | 1966-75 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| John Riggins | 1971-75 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Thomas Jones | 2007-09 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Bilal Powell | 2011-19 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
There are several more firsts from Hall's 2-TD game. He's the first Jets RB to score 2 TDs in a game twice since Isaiah Crowell in 2018. And while a number of Jets running backs have scored at least one TD rushing and one receiving in a game — Braelon Allen, Hall's rookie partner in RB mayhem, already did it once in his second pro game at Tennessee — if Hall does it again, he would join Curtis Martin, the last Jets back to do it twice, in 2000 at Green Bay and '04 vs. Houston, along with Freeman McNeil, John Riggins and Emerson Boozer.
Of course, touchdowns can be telling stats or quirks of metrics, but Hall keeps showing the duality of his game in his yardage figures. He is one of only 2 RBs this season with 600-plus rushing yards and 400-plus receiving yards (the Saints' Alvin Kamara is the other). And he's No. 3 in scrimmage yards the past 2 seasons at 2,618, trailing only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry.
And, while this could change, Hall has moved into 2nd in franchise history with 94.3 scrimmage yards/game, trailing only the iconic Martin, who averaged 103.6 scrimmage yards/game in his 123 Jets games and ahead of Thomas Jones in 3rd at 89.9.
That's quite a lot of triple-barrel production from Hall and quite the select franchise company he keeps because of it. But Hall's goals are more team- and less me-oriented.
:I'm just trying to win as many games as we can," he said after Friday's practice. "That's all I'm worried about."
