Terrelle Pryor recorded a 93-yard touchdown run on the Oakland Raiders’ first play from scrimmage in their 21-18 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the longest touchdown run ever by an NFL quarterback.
The play was a readoption, where Pryor is assigned to give the ball to Darren McFadden or keep it, depending upon how outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley reacts to the prospect of McFadden getting the ball.
Raiders center Stefen Wisniewski said Woodley “bit hard,” which left Pryor with one fewer defender to worry about on the right side of the Raiders line.
All that remained were for right offensive tackle Matt McCants to seal the edge and wide receiver Rod Streater to seal off strong safety Troy Polamalu.
Streater saw the playunfolding, and he knew he had the ability to turn a short gain into a long one.
“Man, anytime he gets around the edge, it can be a house call because he’s so fast,” Streater said. “It was just a great call, a great play and a great read by him.”
Raiders veteran safety Charles Woodson watched from the sideline and said Pryor “faked me out,” and he didn’t realize what happened until Pryor was at midfield.
Even McFadden wasn’t quite sure if he was getting the ball or not.
“He just so happened to pull it back,” McFadden said.
“Once I went into the line and guys kind of grabbed me, I heard the crowd roar and I looked up. He was just gone.”
Pryor’s run surpassed the previous quarterback mark, set by Pittsburgh QB Kordell Stewart, by plenty. Stewart’s run 1996 was 80 yards.
Rex being Rex
New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan tried to look on the bright side in the aftermath of his team’s 49-9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, one week after an overtime victory over rival New England pushed the Jets to within onegame of the Patriots in the AFC East.
The Jets (4-4) are two games behind the Patriots (6-2) after New England rallied from a 17-3 halftime deficit to beat Miami 27-17.
Two games back didn’t sound too bad to Ryan after what he witnessed Sunday.
“We’re only fortunate that it only counts for one loss,” said Ryan, who watched his team fall behind by 14 points after the first quarter, 22 at halftime and 33 after three.
49ers fortitude
The San Francisco 49ers came into Sunday’s game against the winless Jacksonville Jaguars as 15-point favorites, and 49ers safety Donte Whitner said there was no possibility San Francisco would take Jacksonville for granted when teams met at Wembley Stadium in London.
“We have the most paranoid coaching staff in the National Football League,” Whitner said after the 49ers’ 42-10 victory. “We go over things so many times that by the time you get to the game, it’s embedded in your brain. They made sure we didn’t come out here sleepwalking.”Injury update
Michael Vick left the Eagles’ 15-7 loss to the New York Giants late in the second quarter with his ailing hamstring acting up. Vick, making his first start since he injured his left hamstring on Oct. 6, was replaced by Matt Barkley. Vick was 6 of 9 for 31 yards and threw an interception. He had little mobility and did not appear close to recovered. He missed the past two games. … Robert Griffin III left Washington’s 45-21 loss to Denver late in the game with an injured left knee. The Redskins quarterback was slammed to the ground by the Broncos’ Terrance Knighton, and Griffin’s left leg appeared to buckle as Knighton fell on top of him. He said he was OK after the game. … Miami wide receiver Brandon Gibson and New England offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer did not return after being injured in the first half of the Patriots’ 27-17 victory.
Gibson caught a touchdown pass, but hurt his left knee later in the first quarter when he went up for a pass by Ryan Tannehill that sailed over his head. Vollmer was driven off the field on a cart in the second quarter after hurting one of his legs when Miami defensive tackle Randy Starks fell on them. … Detroit defensive end Ziggy Ansah left the Lions’ 31-30 victory over Dallas with an injured left ankle.
Lions wide receiver Ryan Broyles left with an Achilles tendon injury, and cornerback Bill Bentley was sidelined with a knee injury. Dallas guard Brian Waters also left with a triceps injury, and cornerback Morris Claiborne and safety Barry Church went down with hamstring issues.
Sports, Pages 18 on 10/28/2013