Cordarrelle Patterson ties NFL record with 109-yard kickoff return
Cordarrelle Patterson was the 29th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Twelve seconds. That's how long Cordarrelle Patterson needed to take Sunday night's opening kickoff back 109 yards for a touchdown, tying the NFL's unbreakable longest-play record -- a mark set at the very same venue six years earlier.
The Chargers' Antonio Cromartie previously sat alone with a 109-yard play. During a November 2007 game at Minnesota, Cromartie caught a missed field goal inches from the end line and raced back the distance. Amazingly, the Vikings' Marcus Sherels had a 109-yard return of his own this preseason, against the Titans.
Though the rookie Patterson has found it tough to crack the Vikings' depth chart on offense, he's been invaluable as a return man. His kick-return TD Sunday was his second of the year, and he entered the Week 8 showdown with the Packers leading the league in yards-per-return at 36.5.
The Packers actually appeared to have Patterson hemmed in at about the Vikings' 15, but he managed to slip between a wave of defenders before outracing everyone up the sideline. (GIF via BuzzFeedSports.)
Patterson's previous return score came in Week 2 at Chicago, as he and Devin Hester engaged in a special-teams duel. That home run also came on the opening kickoff, though it went for only 105 yards.
