Breece Hall took it upon himself to fact-check Tiki Barber.
Barber, the former Giants running back, was a color commentator on CBS Sports’ coverage of Jets vs. Broncos on Sunday, and he made a remark that caught Hall’s eye two days later.
After Hall scampered untouched for a 72-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to give the Jets a 15-13 lead, Barber provided his analysis.
“Hall surprised the safety with his speed and his burst,” Barber said, after marveling at the massive hole created by the Jets’ offensive line.
“He’s not a 4.4 guy but he is deceptively fast for a 225-pounder.”
Tuesday morning, Hall hit Barber with a “well, actually.”
“Somebody tell Tiki I ran a 4.39 btw [by the way],” Hall tweeted two laughing emojis and an eye roll.
Hall suffered a torn ACL last year, and Sunday versus the Broncos was the first game where the shackles were off in terms of how many carries the Jets felt comfortable giving him.
The Jets won 31-21, improving their record to 2-3.
After the game, in which he carried the ball 22 times for 177 yards, Hall was defiant about not having lost a step.
“People been trying to say I’m not fast no more,” Hall told reporters. “I’m like, ‘I just need some space.’”
He was asked about hitting 21.5 miles per hour on the Next Gen Stats’ measurement of his long touchdown run.
“I’m new and improved now … I got my robot knee so I’m good,” he said.
Hall was jubilant that the performance meant that he could reclaim his “Breece the Beast” nickname.
“I’ve been Breece The Beast since seventh grade,” he said.