Jamison Crowder's Big Day, Flawless Trick Play Made Jets History

Turns out Jamison Crowder is much more than just the Jets' leading wide receiver. 

Not only did the wideout haul in his sixth touchdown of the season in New York's second-consecutive victory on Sunday, Crowder ignited the Jets' offense with a touchdown pass on a trick play. 

In the final seconds of the first quarter, and after snagging a pitch in the backfield from running back Ty Johnson, Crowder launched the football deep down the right sideline. When it came down, finding fellow wideout Braxton Berrios in stride, it was a 43-yard touchdown pass.

With 92 receiving yards on the day, to go along with a 14-yard rush as well, Crowder became just the second player in the NFL over the last 60 years—and the first since 2001—to register 90-plus receiving yards, 40-plus passing yards and 10-plus rushing yards in a single contest. 

The 27-year-old also became just the fourth Jet in franchise history to record receiving, passing and rushing yards in a game. He's the second Jets wide receiver ever to throw a touchdown pass (joining Brad Smith who did it in 2010).

“I’ve never played quarterback, but I’m an athlete,” Crowder told reporters in a Zoom call after the victory. 

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Crowder's "dime"—as quarterback Sam Darnold called it—gave New York an early 6-3 advantage over Cleveland. It was a lead the Jets wouldn't relinquish in their 23-16 win.

"Anytime that you hit on one of those plays and you score on it, you don't always score on it that clean," Jets head coach Adam Gase said, revealing the trick play has been in New York's playbook for years. "That's probably the cleanest that that play's ever been as far as us running it."

Joking that Crowder should take some snaps at quarterback following his deep ball, Darnold smiled. 

"It was cool because I was blocking on it around the edge and I had no one to block so I looked to see if Berrios was wide open and he was. So I just saw the ball come right over his shoulder. He threw it perfectly, it was awesome to see."

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Later on, capping off New York's first drive of the second half, the Jets took a 17-point lead when Darnold found Crowder wide open for a 30-yard touchdown. 

While Crowder filled up the stat sheet on Sunday more than he has all season, he's been reliable as a wideout all year long. In his sixth NFL season, Crowder leads the Jets with six touchdown catches, 668 yards and 55 catches.

"He's so consistent, you always can count on him, the quarterback can definitely count on him to be in the right spot at the right time, make the play that needs to be made in the moment," Gase told reporters after the game on Sunday. "Especially when it's a critical one. When we need a big play, whether it's the perfect coverage or perfect route, it seems like he comes down with the ball and he makes something happen when we need something to happen."

Asked about the wideout one day later, Gase compared the slot receiver to Wes Welker, referencing how often Crowder has been double-teamed this year. Darnold added that regardless of the coverage he's facing, Crowder is as good as it gets when running routes out in space.

"Jamison has always been really good ever since he got here and he’s going to be really good for a long time," Darnold said.

Crowder has one more season remaining on his three-year, $28.5 million deal with New York so he'll be back in 2021. Only question remaining is how many more pass attempts he has left in his Jets future. 

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