Entering Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season with a 1-3 record, the New York Giants wanted to get out to a quick start on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. That is why at the end of their opening possession facing 4th and 1 inside the Seattle one-yard line, Brian Daboll left his offense on the field. It would be the 16th play of a long drive that took over ten minutes off the clock.
A touchdown was scored on the next play, but not the one Daboll was hoping for.
New York kept the ball on the ground, with Daniel Jones turning and handing off to running back Eric Gray. As the running back tried to leap the pile but was stopped short of the end zone. As Gray tried to reach paydirt with his second effort, the ball squirted free.
That’s when this happened:
Rayshawn Jenkins scooped up the loose ball in his own end zone and raced upfield as the rest of the players tried to figure out exactly what had happened 102 yards later Jenkins was in the end zone, and Daboll was wondering what exactly was going on.
The play was reviewed, and there was not sufficient evidence to determine that Gray had crossed the goal line, and the Seattle touchdown stood.
For those wondering, Jenkins’ touchdown does not go into the record books as the longest fumble return touchdown in NFL history. That mark is shared by Jack Tatum — who returned a fumble 104 yards for a touchdown for the Oakland Raiders in a game against the Green Bay Packers back in 1972 — and Aeneas Williams, who returned a fumble 104 yards for a touchdown for the Cardinals against Washington back in 2000.
Jenkins’ 102-yard return ties the second-longest return, set by Travis Davis on a play for the Steelers against the Panthers back in 1999.
The play stands out as just one more bizarre snap on an NFL Sunday filled with them.
