There may be nothing more exciting in football than seeing a lineman score, and Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Jonah Williams lived out the dream on Sunday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In the first quarter of the Cardinals’ (7-7,2-2) victory over the New England Patriots (3-11,1-3), sitting eight yards out from the goal line, Arizona wide receiver Greg Dortch took a handoff on an end-around and sprinted for the end zone. Six yards into his run, Dortch was met by New England linebacker Anfernee Jennings, who punched the ball out of the Cardinals hand into the end zone. Before the ball could roll out of bounds, Williams reacted.
The 6’5″, 312-pound lineman acted instinctually quick, moving Patriots defensive tackle Eric Johnson II out of his way and pouncing on the ball for a score to give Arizona a 30-17 win. It was the first touchdown of the game.
PUT HIM ON THE NICE LIST IMMEDIATELY.@JonahGWilliams pic.twitter.com/U539M2bLpD
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 15, 2024
Rarely do offensive linemen receive any glory for doing the dirty work in the trenches; however, Williams became a fan favorite after doing what all of the NFL’s big men wish they had the chance to do.
“Usually I get two or three text (after the game), but I got a couple more than that,” Williams said during his press conference Monday.
It’s a rarity to see an offensive lineman score, and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon knows it.
“I think it was the first time he scored since sixth grade, he was juiced,” Gannon said at the postgame press conference Sunday with a grin.
As much of a fun moment as it was for the Cardinals and Williams to see him put a touchdown in the box score, like everything else about the Cardinals performance, it was earned.
“The double positive is ‘chase the play,’ so that’ll forever be a teach tape there, because if that goes out of bounds, obviously that’s their ball,” Gannon said. “So we gotta do a good job at protecting the ball, but I thought that was an excellent play by him, maxing out effort there.”
Williams capitalized on a Dortch faux pas, but don’t let that discredit the wide receiver’s impact on the game.
Dortch finished the game with three catches for 60 yards and a six-yard run that we can call an assist to Williams to keep things upbeat after several weeks of sadness. Gannon said outside of his fumble, Dortch was “lights out.”
“He’s a playmaker. When he gets the ball in his hands, he can make plays for us,” Gannon said. “He does a lot for us, too. He wears a lot of hats for us on game days as you saw. He’s a pair and a spare in all kinds of phases… He let’s his pads do the talking, I know that.”
Gannon isn’t the only one looking past Dortch’s hiccup.
While Williams enjoyed the spotlight for a moment, he was more concerned with breaking the Cardinals’ three-game losing streak.
“Obviously the touchdown thing was cool, but it just felt good to get back on track,” Williams said. “I think it was a pretty complete offensive performance for us, and defensive, too. So it was just a good feeling, we needed that win and its a good momentum going into next week.”
Williams had previously missed nine games this season after suffering a knee injury in the season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills and was questionable to play this game with an illness before being reported as available on game day. The Cardinals’ offensive tackles first three starts upon return after the bye week were all losses, making this his first win he was a part of this year.
“When I was hurt and I was watching the guys win, it’s still a great feeling to come in the locker room after and everybody’s really positive and happy, but it’s obviously a lot more fun when you’re a part of it too,” Williams said. “I love the culture of this team, and it’s cool to see that paying off with a win.”
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Reporter Jordyn Bennett covers the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State and other Phoenix area sports and sports related topics. You can follow him on his X account, @j_bennett_live.
