Entering Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season with a 1-3 record. new york giants I wanted to get a quick start on the opponent's road. seattle seahawks. That's why Brian Daboll left the offense on the field at the end of the first possession, facing 4th-and-1 inside Seattle's 1-yard line. This was the 16th play of a long drive that took more than 10 minutes.
The next play resulted in a touchdown, but it wasn't what Daboll had hoped for.
New York kept the ball on the ground and Daniel Jones turned and passed to running back Eric Gray. The running back tried to jump over the pile, but was stopped in front of the end zone. When Gray tried to reach pay dirt on his second effort, the ball popped free.
Then something like this happened.
Rayshawn Jenkins scooped up the loose ball in his own end zone and ran up the field as the rest of the players tried to figure out exactly what happened. 102 yards later, Jenkins was in the end zone. Dabor was wondering what exactly was going on.
The play was reviewed, but there was not enough evidence to determine that Gray crossed the goal line, and Seattle's touchdown was a standstill.
In case you're wondering, Jenkins' touchdown doesn't go down in the record books as the longest fumble return touchdown in NFL history. That mark is the same as Jack Tatum who returned the fumble. 104 yards touchdown In 1972, he played for the Oakland Raiders in a game against the Green Bay Packers. And then there's Aeneas Williams, who returned a fumble for 104 yards for a touchdown in a game against Washington with the Cardinals in 2000.
Jenkins' 102-yard return tied the second-longest return recorded by Travis Davis on a Steelers-Panthers play in 1999.
The play stands out as just another odd snap on an NFL Sunday filled with them.
