Late in the third quarter on Monday night in Kansas City, the Chiefs were marching deep in the red zone looking to put a dagger in the New Orleans Saints. Leading 16-7, Patrick Mahomes threw a slant to JuJu Smith-Schuster that would’ve put them up 16 — a near insurmountable lead given how the Saints offense had been playing.
However, Smith-Schuster was unable to handle the pass and it popped up in the air, where Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders reached out and snagged it with one hand in the end zone. Most tackles would fall down for a touchback, content with coming up with a huge turnover, but Saunders had dreams of so much more and returned it all the way out to the 37 on an incredible run back.
KHALEN SAUNDERS SAID HOLD UP LET ME RUN THIS
📺: #NOvsKC— 8:15pm on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/OSelERCV8O— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2024
That is a large man scooting, showing off all kinds of athleticism in hauling in the pick with one hand and then tucking it like a natural running back and taking off. My favorite part is him pushing one of his defensive back teammates out of the way because he was slowing him down and keeping him from really opening it up.
What made the play even more incredible was it came directly after ESPN ran a video package about Saunders and Travis Kelce, because Saunders’ brother is a dancer on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour — which is why Joe Buck exclaimed “and there he is!” when Saunders got the ball. Saunders earned his trip to the oxygen tank on the Saints sideline with that play, and got to show off that he’s more than just a big body on the interior of the line.
