New York Jets running back Breece Hall finished six yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards this season—seemingly because of a coaching staffer’s bad math.
The second-year back from Iowa State registered 37 carries for 178 yards and one touchdown in Week 18’s 17—3 road win over the New England Patriots, which put him at 994 rushing yards on the year. Hall just needed just a few more yards to claim his first 1,000-yard rushing season as a pro, but he fell short for the most cringeworthy reason possible.
Jets coach Robert Saleh told reporters after the game that the coaching staff was well aware of Hall’s inching closer to the 1,000-yard mark during the season finale. Unfortunately, one of the coaches’ math was just “wrong.”
“Yeah, we were aware,” Saleh said Monday. “One of our mathematicians was wrong. We thought he got it, but then we were 10 yards off. But we were trying to get it for him on that last run; otherwise we would have taken a knee.”
Son of a…. 🤦♂️ #Jets HC Robert Saleh admitted that ‘one of our mathematicians’ was wrong on the sideline & they thought Breece Hall (@BreeceH) had gotten 1,000 rushing yards.
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) January 7, 2024
Instead Hall finished with 994 rushing yards on the season.
🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/foRqSTBUTd
Hall, who racked up 1,585 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns in 2023, didn’t seem too bothered about coming up short on a 1,000-yard rushing campaign.
“I really wasn’t upset, because everybody in the league that watches me knows that I have the potential to be probably the best back in the NFL,” Hall said after Sunday’s win.
"No, I really wasn't upset that I didn't reach 1,000 rushing yards, because everybody in the league that watches me knows that I have the potential to be probably the best back in the NFL."- Breece Hall#Jets pic.twitter.com/uee36lEAiZ
— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) January 7, 2024
In Hall’s first healthy NFL season, after tearing an ACL in October 2022, he narrowly missed out on a career milestone.
Despite the Jets’ ineffectual offense, which ranked second to last in the NFL in total yards, Hall finished only behind the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey in total yards from scrimmage. In fact, Hall joins McCaffrey as the only two running backs in the past four years to record at least 950 rushing yards and 75 receptions in a single season.
The Jets (7–10) missed the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season.
