Dillon, By the Numbers: One Big Hit, Two Touchdowns, High-Fives

"I’ve got a baby on the way. You only get one head," Packers RB AJ Dillon said of the big hit that ended his night vs. the Rams.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Dec 21, 2022 11:47 PM EST

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Few players have embraced the Green Bay life more than Packers running back AJ Dillon.

So, leave it to Dillon to exchange high-fives with the fans when he jogged to the locker room to be checked for a concussion on Monday night.

“I love the fans of Green Bay,” Dillon said after Wednesday’s practice. “It’s the first time I’ve ever had to go to the locker room, so I didn’t really know what the proper protocol was, but people had their hands out and stuff, so I’m like, ‘Yeah, high-fives. High-fives. How you guys doing?’ Definitely appreciate everybody coming out, showing some support in games we’ve got to have. Fans out in Lambeau, can’t beat it.”

On the final play of the third quarter of the victory over the Rams, Dillon got rocked along the sideline. He checked into the blue medical tent behind the Packers’ bench before going to the locker room for additional testing.

“That was one of those fluke plays,” Dillon said. “I tried to spin out of a tackle, guy had me by my legs, tried to make something happen. When I turned around, there was a guy right there. It was one of those blind shots and I got hit in the head.”

Dillon didn’t have a concussion, but his night was over. He practiced on Wednesday and proclaimed himself “good to go” for Sunday’s game at the Miami Dolphins.

Dillon was thankful for how everything transpired on Monday.

“The refs did a really good job of making sure I was all right. They saw I was a little dazed,” Dillon said. “I was trying to get back out there. I was doing all the tests. I’m like, ‘How did I do? How did I do?’ I actually did better than my baseline test.”

In the not-too-distant past, that would have been enough to get him back into the game. However, earlier this season, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was allowed to re-enter a game against Buffalo, even after he stumbled and fell after taking a hard hit. In response, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to changes in the concussion protocol. Because of those changes, Dillon was not allowed to re-enter the game against Rams.

“I felt like I could’ve gone back in when I took the test,” Dillon said. “It’s not really about the player thinks. All I did was want to go back in there. Even after they said I couldn’t, I was like, ‘Please let me go back out there.’ But player safety is more important.

“I had time to think about it. I got back home, talked to my wife. I’ve got a baby on the way. You only get one head. You’ve got to take care of yourself, you’ve got to take care of your body. Football’s a very short time span. You’ve got a lot of life in front of you, so I really do appreciate our staff and the refs out there. They were quick to realize and make sure I went over to the sideline.”

The injury meant an early end to Dillon’s two-touchdown day. First was an 8-yarder in the second quarter. Dillon took the ball out of shotgun and plowed into safety Taylor Rapp around the 4. First, receiver Allen Lazard gave him a shove. Next, every member of the offensive line helped push Dillon into the end zone.

“That was fun,” he said. “I didn’t realize it until I watched back on the tape. Initially going through, I’m looking down and I see the goal line’s right here and I know I’ve got these couple guys and I’m right there and, all of a sudden, I think Allen hit me first and I’m like, ‘We’re definitely in.’ And then, all of a sudden, I feel all those guys coming on top. It’s great.”

Midway through the third quarter, Dillon got low and slithered through a small crease for a 1-yard touchdown run.

“You get close to the end zone right there, you get some superpowers. You’ve got to get in there,” Dillon said.