Breece Hallwas in the middle — almost literally — of one of his better games as the Jets' featured runner. During the afternoon at MetLife Stadium against Dallas, he burst free for five rushes of at least 16 yards, plus another catch for 16 more. He finished with 113 rushing yards and 155 scrimmage yards.

But then there was that thing in the middle that let the air out of his and the Jets' tires for the game's final 32 minutes: a lost fumble, midway into the red zone. Instead of going for a possible 10-10 tie heading toward the half, they instead were en route to a 23-3 halftime deficit and a 37-22 fifth loss of the season without a win.

"I think the only reason it was as deflating as it was was because the exact same thing happened last week," QB Justin Fields said, recalling Braelon Allen's lost fumble a yard from the goal line on the opening drive at Miami. "It was like a dam, almost."

Hall had a few "damns" along the way, no doubt. He took his mistake — losing the handle on the ball near the Cowboys 10 when second-year LB Marist Liufau punched it from his grip with DE Sam Williams recovering — to heart in each postgame comment he made to reporters.

"It was just a costly fumble from me, which is unacceptable," he said. "I said it last week, we can't shoot ourselves in the foot. ... I was one of the best players on offense. I can't put us in that situation. So it's unacceptable.

"I put it on myself. I told my coach that turned it into a 14-point swing real fast. Put it on me at the end of the day. I don't have time to play the blame game. It is what it is. It's not time to make excuses. It's my fault."

Fields understood what his bellcow back was going through and tried to ease the pain.

"Breece was beating himself up all the way at halftime. I just told him that's over with, that's in the past," the QB said. "He had a great day on the ground today. He can't do anything about it. It's over with. The only thing he can do is continue to move forward and continue toting the ball like he did today."

That was the shame of the fumble. Before it, Hall slashed for 22, 16 and 21 carries. After it, and after shaking off the effects of the stinger down his arm that he also suffered on the play, he dashed for a 17-yarder on the Jets' first play of the second half, then added his last 16-yard gains.

As for a question about whether 18 touches in the game were enough, Hall again wasn't indulging the blame game.

"I'm with whatever Tanner's calling the plays for," he said of OC Tanner Engstrand. "He puts me in great spots all the time. He's continuing to build a relationship with me and to trust me, so for me, it hurts to cost the team points with putting the ball on the ground."

Hall is feeling the twin pulls of wanting to do well for his team while making a name for himself. There is a chance for some quick redemption on the international stage when the Jets play host to Denver in London on Sunday, but that's not how the young but rapidly maturing back sees the business trip ahead.

"It'll be cool to get to London and everything, but I'm worried about winning football games," he said. "I'm not worried about having fun right now. I'm in my fourth year, I don't have a lot of time left to prove what I want to do who I can be in this league. At the end of the day, all the outside stuff is cool, but I'm worried about winning games, cementing myself, my teammates and my coaches to be better and do better."

Fields reminded everyone who the often friendly, sometimes intense ballcarrier can be at his best on the field.

"Did he want that play back? Yeah, we all did," Fields said. "But he's a great teammate, a great person and a great worker. And I don't see that happening the rest of the season, just because of this moment in time right here."

Hall didn't need to hear his quarterback say the lost fumble was a one-time thing. He already knows it.

"I've just got to learn from it. It can't happen again," he said. "I'm confident that it won't happen again."