Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Four carriers, 9 yards — a lot of blame.
Breece Hall didn’t mince his words when it came to who he thought was to blame for the Jets offensive issues in their 30-10 loss on Sunday.
Breece Hall on why the run game struggled: “I only had four touches, that’s why we struggled.” Also said he & other backs could have done more to make the most of their opps, but clearly didn’t like the balance of plays. “We got down early and kind of abandoned the run.”
— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) September 18, 2023
Hall finished the game with four carries for nine yards, on a day where the Jets ground attack was astonishingly awful. Dalvin Cook got as many carries as hall, finishing with even fewer yards on the ground — while the team’s leading rusher ended up being quarterback Zach Wilson, who scrambled on the ground.
The vibes were always going to be off in New York after losing Aaron Rodgers for the season in Week 1 — but things have hit a wall already. On the one hand it’s fair for Hall to be upset with only getting four touches after rushing for for 176 yards against Buffalo in the opener, and being the biggest reason the Jets pulled off an improbable win. However, there are fair reasons why the coaching staff decided to play it safe against the Cowboys.
Hall is still on a limited snap count after tearing his ACL during his rookie season, and no matter how frustrated he got with a lack of usage on Sunday there wasn’t a good reason to throw him into the blender. It was clear from the first snap that Dallas had no reason to respect Zach Wilson’s passing ability, causing the defense to stack the box to ensure they didn’t get run over like the Bills did.
It’s for this reason that nobody was able to make in-roads on the ground. Not only do the Cowboys boast one of the quickest, and most-effective defenses in the NFL — but they were keyed on the run from the first down. No matter how many carries Hall got, it’s not like he was going to be able to counteract Dak Prescott thriving, or Zach Wilson throwing three interceptions.
We can chalk this up to a little young player frustration and a bit of misguided anger — because there was nothing Breece Hall could have done on Sunday.
