As it goes with every game, there are always a handful of big moments that can spark a team and shift momentum. That was the case again in Jacksonville where the road team, the Houston Texans took over in the fourth quarter.
In what had been a real close contest that saw the Jaguars take the lead for the first time all game, quarterback Brian Hoyer led his team down to take the lead back for good. The drive ended with a beautiful touchdown grab by wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but his catch prior to that was the one that made Houston feel like they couldn’t lose.
Hopkins ran his route towards the sideline and had two defenders chasing him. Hoyer throws a pass where it will most likely go out of bounds, only to be caught by Hopkins if he makes a great play.
But as has become the norm with the man nicknamed “Nuk,” the great play is made. DeAndre extends his arms and hauls the pass in as he falls out of bounds.
Of course the receiver must maintain possession all the way to the ground and the slightest of movement could send these fickle refs into a frenzy of terrible calls. DeAndre though decides to use his head on the play (literally) and make sure that ball doesn’t budge.
Sandwiching the ball between his helmet and left hand made sure that the pigskin was secure as possible and didn’t move even a fraction of an inch. This play led to many more big plays in the decisive 21-point fourth quarter as the Texans sent the Jags fans packing with a loss, 31-20.
GIFs were provided by Owned Sports. Check out more of the best plays of the week in the NFL.