It’s been a long time since Arizona Cardinals 27-year-old right tackle Jonah Williams scored a touchdown. It came when he was playing fullback in the sixth grade at Murphey Candler Park in Brookhaven, Ga., for the Georgia Force.
Three years later, he moved to California, but Williams has fond recollections of that score and was able to talk about it after recovering a fumble in the end zone Sunday for the first touchdown of the game in the Cardinals’ 30-17 win over the Patriots.
On second-and-3 from the New England eight-yard line with 1:31 to play in the first quarter and leading 3-0, quarterback Kyler Murray executed an inside handoff to wide receiver Greg Dortch, who was moving right to left.
Dortch turned the corner and was headed to the end zone when Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings knocked the ball out at the two-yard line. The ball bounded into the end zone after it hit Dortch’s leg when Williams raced after it and made the recovery inches inside the back of the end zone.
Williams was pulling on the play and was in front of Dortch when the fumble occurred. When he saw it loose, Williams was also able to beat defensive lineman Eric Johnson II to the ball.
PUT HIM ON THE NICE LIST IMMEDIATELY.@JonahGWilliams pic.twitter.com/U539M2bLpD
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 15, 2024
“I was pulling around for a linebacker and sorta blocked him and saw out of the corner of my eye the ball come out and I just had a mad dash to try to get on it,” he said. “(It was) just a sort of see ball, get ball. I saw it on the ground, sprinted and fell on it.”
In his mind, he said, “It was definitely slow motion. It felt like I was running about six miles an hour, but I think I was going faster just trying to fall forward and try to get on the ball.”
Asked if he realized how close he was to the line at the back of the end zone, Williams said, “I was very worried about that. That’s why I wasn’t sure what happened until after. Did it go out? But I guess I didn’t.
“I didn’t really realize what happened until after, when Paris (Johnson Jr.) told me I scored a touchdown. How does that work? Pretty cool.”
Williams had some fun with the situation when a reporter mentioned it was all about his footwork.
He joked, “Thats what I tried to do. I planned it. I practiced that before. Such a random play to get so much praise for, but it’s cool.”
Where Williams really had a good time was talking about that day in sixth grade perhaps 16 years ago when he was “toting the rock.”
He elicited laughter when asked what he remembers about the play, and said, “I remember the hole happened up. It was 30-trap. Center climbed to the linebacker. I just hit it behind him. I almost got conked by a nose guard. It was really embarrassing. That was my last chance to run the ball. This one is a little more exciting. A little bigger.”
As for the center, he said, “I wish I could remember his name, but he had a great block for me.”
This all came on a day when Williams was added to the injury report Sunday morning as questionable because of an illness.
“I had a really tough night, but trainers got me right and I just had to get out there and play,” Williams said.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon said afterward the play was huge.
“That’s one of our mode to play,” he said. “How he impacts 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. We have to do a good job of protecting the ball, first of all, but I thought that was (an) excellent play by him. Just maxing out effort there. I think it was the first time he scored since sixth grade, so he was juiced.”
Running back James Conner said, “It’s just hustle. That’s the team that we want to be. One that hustles.”
Added tight end Trey McBride, “Coming into today, he had a little sickness, an illness and for him to make that play, hustle and get on that ball, it was exciting. I’m so happy for him.”
As for the ball, Williams said, “The equipment guys grabbed it for me. They’re gonna paint it up for my first (NFL) touchdown.”
And who knows, maybe the last.