During Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, Jakobi Meyers became the 352nd player in the history of the Patriots’ franchise to score a touchdown for the team. However, his path to get there was unlike the previous 351.
Entering the game, Meyers had 131 catches without a score. The previous record for the most catches before a players first touchdown was 80 (Bobby Wade), and Meyers was flirting with the record for the most catches ever without a touchdown, just four grabs out of the third spot on that list as he hauled in his third catch of the day and 134th of his career.
Catch 135 is the one that finally saw him cross the goal line. With the game out of reach and Brian Hoyer in at quarterback, Meyers caught a ball in the flat, broke a tackle, and dove into the end zone for an 11-yard score. He was met in the end zone by the majority of the team, with players coming off the sideline to congratulate him.
JAKOBI MEYERS HAS HIS FIRST CAREER RECEIVING TOUCHDOWN!
— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2021
📺: #CLEvsNE on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/sKTPjxaTre
“It’s crazy. Honestly, the fact that everybody celebrated with me means more than the touchdown,” Meyers said about the score after the game. “I feel like it says a lot about your teammates and what they think of you, and just the fact that they were all there. I know they’ve been waiting on that, they’ve been real patient. Everybody else outside, my family, that was just more so just for them, but throwing touchdowns is definitely a little more funny, you know.”
Multiple players came off the sideline to congratulate Meyers. That's Slater on the left side of the huddle here.
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) November 14, 2021
“I told him today, I was like, ‘you’re going to score before the game.’ I didn’t know it was going to come from Hoyer. It was great. I was super excited. We were out together,” Mac Jones recalled. “I think Jakobi is a great teammate and he’s a great team player and that’s much deserved and he’s going to get more. From here, hopefully we just keep stacking them up and there will be a bunch. He’s a great teammate, like I said, gets to the red zone, does his job, sometimes when he’s not even getting the ball, he’s in there knocking people down and just being really physical. We are really happy to be able to play together and hopefully we’ll play together for a long time.”
“It’s great every time we score, but yeah, Jakobi has been a part of a lot of big plays that have put other guys in a position to do that and good to see him score,” Bill Belichick noted. “But the most important thing is the contributions that everybody made to the team winning the game and giving a solid performance for four quarters out there. I think everybody’s just happy that that happened, and they should be, because they worked hard to make it happen.”
“I think it was just the highlight of the game. How it was all going and, then, to end that way with him getting his first, congrats to my guy. He’s been working so hard. He works hard every day and he deserves it.,” fellow wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said, before making a bold prediction. “I told him he might go on a touchdown streak now. It was just dope for him breaking the tackle too and then making the play, but again, shoutout to the whole team executing on the play to make the play happen. It takes everybody.”
With the grab, Meyers becomes the 10th player to score a touchdown for the Patriots this season. He’ll look to double his touchdown total next week, when the Patriots play in his home state of Georgia against the Falcons.
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Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.