The Falcons trailed 28-20 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when receiver Darnell Mooney fumbled. Six Buccaneers players surrounded the ball, and it looked like the Bucs were about to recover and that the Falcons’ best chance of a comeback had just been fumbled away.
Instead, Falcons center Ryan Neuzil, who was far behind the play at the time the ball came out, sprinted downfield, jumped into the pile and ended up with possession, a crucial fumble recovery that kept the Falcons’ drive alive, leading to a touchdown and ultimately a 29-28 win.
It was an extraordinary play from Neuzil, whose teammates and coaches said afterward that they couldn’t believe what he did.
“I jogged off the field, I said there’s no way we recovered that ball. I just jogged off. Someone said, ‘No, we might have it.’ I said, ‘How?’” Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins said after the game. “Our offensive line coach [Dwayne Ledford] preaches covering. So when the ball is thrown and the rush stops, you are to run forward. You don’t know where or why but you are to run forward. They coach it. They do it so much that when we’re in walk-through, just walking through plays, after every play they walk forward to train the muscle memory. Neuzil covered tonight. If you watch the tape, they do it a lot, more than most guys I’ve played with. When you cover like that, it saved the game. I’m so happy for Neuz making that play. It’s classic o-lineman to just do their job, not make it about them, and be in the right spot and make the play because they’re doing what they’re coached to do.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Neuzil made exactly the kind of play he told his players before the game he needed them to make to find a way to win.
“Effort. Effort,” Morris said. “We talk about covering for our offensive line, you run down the field and do the things that’s required. To watch him do those things, finish and get the ball back for his football team. We talked before the game about playing for each other, and that is the absolute definition of playing for each other when you run down the field and you recover a fumble like that and you get the ball back and continue to give us a chance.”
Offensive linemen don’t get enough credit for their big plays. Neuzil deserves the praise he’s receiving for a huge play on Thursday night.
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