Jets RB Breece Hall 'still that dude' in return from ACL injury

The expectation entering the season is that it could take Hall time to fully return from last season's devastating injury. Many backs have taken time to fully return to form -- Saquon Barkley and J.K. Dobbins being two recent examples. Instead, Hall was on that Adrian Peterson recovery timeline.

"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,'" Hall said. "I always had that mentality, but I was just happy the coaches stuck with me today. 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. So, they kind of just rolled with me, Dalvin (Cook), and MC (Michael Carter) carrying it. So, it was cool."

Rodgers' injury will put more focus on the backfield.

Hall rushed 10 times for 127 yards Monday night and added one catch for 20 yards. Cook took 13 totes for 33 yards, and Carter one for six.

Hall's ability to blast off for big plays is a game-changer for the New York offense. Next Gen Stats calculated he was supposed to rush for 46 yards on Monday night. He went for 127. The 81 rushing yards over expected marked the highest RYOE of any back in the NFL in Week 1 (ahead of Christian McCaffrey's 56).

There is no sugarcoating Gang Green losing a Hall of Fame quarterback they'd built their season around four plays into the first game. That's brutal. But the silver lining is that Hall looks fantastic, and maybe -- just maybe -- there are enough playmakers on offense to keep the Jets afloat for a long season despite the downgrade under center.