There are not many reasons to watch the 4-7 Falcons visit the 2-9 Jets, who are playing out the string without a pair of stars traded at the deadline and with Garrett Wilson sidelined with injury.<\/p>\n
But a matchup of two of the more electric running backs in the NFL \u2014 and an opportunity for the Jets\u2019 rusher to redeem himself \u2014 provides plenty of intrigue.<\/p>\n
Breece Hall and Bijan Robinson meet again Sunday, Hall owning a 2-1 lifetime record against his pal.<\/p>\n
Hall\u2019s Iowa State teams beat Robinson\u2019s Texas teams twice during their collegiate careers, where the two struck up a friendship, before Robinson\u2019s Falcons beat the Jets in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my boy. That\u2019s been my boy since college. I\u2019m excited to go against him,\u201d Hall said after practice Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m up in our little series.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two of the best running backs in the Big 12 one year apart \u2014 Hall was a second-round pick in 2022 and Robinson a first-round pick in \u201923 \u2014 have renewed their friendly rivalry.<\/p>\n
Jets running back Breece Hall trades jerseys with Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons after an NFL football game at MetLife Stadium on December 3, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Robinson is fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (1,396) and averages 6.3 yards per touch despite defenses focused on shutting down Atlanta\u2019s best player. His greatest strength might be just how many strengths he possesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s so dynamic in so many areas,\u201d said Steve Wilks, the defensive coordinator of a Jets team whose run defense has made strides and will be tested, \u201cout of the backfield, out in space, screen game, they use him as a receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA complete package,\u201d Hall added of Robinson. \u201cHe\u2019s really good in pass [protection]. He can catch and run. He can run inside zone, outside zone, power, counter \u2026 catch a screen and take it to the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breece Hall has over 1,000 all-purpose yards this season. Getty Images<\/p>\n
All of which invites a comparison involving the two engines of offenses that are led right now by underwhelming veteran quarterbacks on underwhelming teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate to compare players, but I can see where that comparison really comes at because both of those guys are really good,\u201d Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said this week. \u201cThey\u2019re three-down backs, first off. Both of those guys are really good as far as being in the backfield, being able to run the ball, but then again, you can split those guys out wide and allow those guys to be a receiver for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bijan Robinson runs with the ball against the Carolina Panthers during the NFL 2025 game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hall has been a bright spot in a dark season. In his past four games, he has eclipsed 100 yards from scrimmage three times. After surviving a trade-deadline sell-off in which Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams exited, and with Wilson shelved, Hall has picked up his own game.<\/p>\n
On Sunday in Baltimore, he was easily the Jets\u2019 best player, his elusiveness and yards-after-the-catch skills bringing the Jets into position to cut the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Breece Hall hugs Bijan Robinson after an NFL football game at MetLife Stadium on December 3, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Which is when Hall was stripped at the Ravens\u2019 2-yard line. Offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand found Hall after the loss and told him he was the reason the Jets were even threatening in the drive.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Coaches] know I\u2019m more disappointed in myself than anybody else could be,\u201d the fourth-year pro said Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s a thing of just coming back and just getting better and not doing it [again].\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall\u2019s performance matters for a team that often needs to run to move the ball and for a team that is evaluating a pending free agent. The Jets can attempt to lock up Hall long-term or franchise tag him to ensure he sticks around.<\/p>\n
Games like Sunday\u2019s \u2014 when he will get a chance to stand out from another standout running back \u2014 will factor into those decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a really good comparison,\u201d Glenn said of Hall and Robinson, \u201cbut there\u2019s also some differences between those guys, too. But I like our guy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are not many reasons to watch the 4-7 Falcons visit the 2-9 Jets, who are playing out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2670,12353,4279,9,11,430,10,22,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-55334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-atlanta-falcons","9":"tag-bijan-robinson","10":"tag-breece-hall","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-jets","14":"tag-new-york-news","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}