Through their previous two games, the Falcons had played some impressive defense. At the Week 9 bye, head coach Dan Quinn re-jiggered his defenive play-calling staff, giving linebacker coach Jeff Ulbrich first- and second-down play-calling duties, and giving assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Raheem Morris third-down responsibilities. In crushing wins over the Panthers and Saints, Atlanta didn’t allow a touchdown, picked off four passes, added 11 sacks to their team total, and both wins were on the road.
This run of success did not continue against the Buccaneers in the first half on Sunday. Not only did Jameis Winston throw two touchdown passes to receiver Chris Godwin; there was also this tremendous one-yard touchdown pass to defensive tackle Vita Vea.
Sooo… this was on second-and-goal, so I guess we have to blame Ulbrich for not picking up the F-Drag responsibility. Not that this was expected, per se.
Actually, the play was historic. Per Pro Football Reference, (via Football Perspective’s Twitter account), no player heavier than the 347-pound Vea has ever caught a touchdown pass in NFL history.
That’s Ravens Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, Bengals four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Willie Anderson, and ex-Bears defensive tackle William “The Refrigerator” Perry. We would concur with the suspicion regarding Perry’s listed weight, but one must go with what one has.
We would also quibble with the omission of former Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe, who was credited with a one-yard rushing touchdown against the Raiders in 2016. We would call this a touchdown reception — and an impressive schematic conceit, as Poe was the fourth option in a red-zone diamond formation on a catch from Alex Smith.
Even so, Poe — who currently plays for the Panthers — is listed at 346 pounds, so Vea’s record would stand by one pound, nonetheless.
