In one of the most uncommon touchdowns we are expected to see this season, Tyreek Hill scored a first-quarter touchdown for the Miami Dolphins against the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, that in itself is not surprising. After all, Tyreek Hill leads the league in receiving yards and him scoring a touchdown should not be any news. If he had scored a rushing touchdown too, it wouldn't have been too bizarre because he has done it before.
But this was him at his opportunistic and devastating best. He recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown while playing as an offensive player. That just does not happen often. Take a look at the play below.
Tua Togovailoa called a running play and handed the ball over to running back Jack Wilson. He ran with the ball and seemed to have got the first down, only to lose the ball, taking it into contact. As the players formed a scrum over the fumble, with each team trying to recover the ball, it squirted behind and went backwards. With all the other players either in the melee or standing waiting for it to clear, Tyreek Hill was the only one aware enough that the play had not been whistled dead.
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He picked up the ball and ran towards the endzone. The opposition was caught flat-footed. Considering how fast the 'Cheetah' is, there was no chance they were going to catch him once he took off. In the process, he became the first player in the Super Bowl era to score a touchdown in five different ways.
The score reduced the arrears from 10-0 to 10-7 for the Miami Dolphins. The Chargers were dominant until then and had raced into a big lead. They had even forgone another field goal chance, instead taking a fourth-and-goal opportunity. Without such risks, their lead would undoubtedly have been even bigger. Tua was not connecting on his throws downfield as he generally does, and the Miami offense was struggling. This absurd touchdown completely changed the complexion of the game.
NFL fans in disbelief over Tyreek Hill's fumble return
NFL fans could not quite believe what they saw. After all, this is not a regular occurrence. Some people hailed Tyreek Hill's genius. Others considered him to be extremely lucky.
Despite the divergent feelings about this, there is no doubt about the uniqueness of the play. It was certainly not drawn up by design. But Tyreek Hill showed that in football the only thing that matters is fighting for every inch at every moment.
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