Taron Johnson ran his way into Buffalo Bills lore, and the NFL playoffs record book.
The former Weber State cornerback returned an interception 101 yards for a pick-six in Buffalo’s 17-3 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL divisional round playoffs on Saturday night at Bills Stadium.
“A play that people are going to remember for a long time here in Buffalo, potentially a franchise-altering play,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said, per The Athletic.
It was a tougher night for former Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley, though, who made his postseason debut for Baltimore in the loss.
Johnson’s momentum-changing play came after the Bills went 10-3 in the third quarter, but Baltimore used a long, time-consuming drive to put itself into position to tie the game.
Johnson had other plans.
Facing a third-and-goal at the Buffalo 9, Johnson stepped in front of a pass from Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson into the end zone, then weaved his way for the touchdown that put the Bills up 17-3.
“Coach made a good call, a Cover-2 call, and I’m just reading the eyes of the quarterback,” Johnson said of the interception, per ESPN. “I have the seam in that coverage, and he took me to the back side, and all I did was cheat. He didn’t see me, and the ball came to me.
“I kind of looked down, but then I looked up, and I saw a whole bunch of green grass to the right side. So I figured if I could race over there — I know Lamar is fast, but if I have lead blockers, I feel like I could take it.”
The 101-yard return tied the NFL playoff record for the longest interception returned for a touchdown, matching the Green Bay Packers’ George Teague’s return in 1993, per ESPN.
It’s the second career interception for a touchdown for Johnson, after he had one in Week 14 earlier this year. Johnson finished the game with six solo tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass deflection, in addition to the pick-six.
“Taron Johnson, a guy who coming into the game you go, OK, just a guy, but he was the guy tonight,” NBC sports broadcaster Al Michaels said during the game’s telecast moments after the game ended.
Huntley was activated off the Ravens’ practice squad for the NFL divisional round game, like he had also done during wild-card week. He entered the game after Jackson, Baltimore’s starter, left on the final play of the third quarter after taking a hard hit and went into the concussion protocol, according to the NBC broadcast.
Baltimore trailed 17-3 when Huntley, an undrafted rookie, took over in his first playoff action as a pro. Huntley completed 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards and had three carries for 32 yards in a quarter of play.
On his first full series, Huntley overshot Marquise Brown on a fourth-and-8 play at the Baltimore 29, giving Buffalo the ball back in Ravens territory, though the Bills missed a field goal on the ensuing drive to keep it a 14-point game.
On his second full drive, though, Huntley led the Ravens into the red zone. He hit Brown for a 29-yard gain on a third-and-16 play to the Buffalo 19. Two plays later, Huntley scrambled for 11 yards for a first down to the Bills 8.
The drive stalled, after J.K. Dobbins dropped a pass on third-and-goal, and Mark Andrews couldn’t hold onto a pass to the middle of the end zone on fourth down.
Huntley completed 4 of 8 passes on the drive for 53 yards — that included four straight completions — and added 13 rushing yards, while he was sacked once.
From there, Buffalo wrapped up the win after a penalty on fourth down allowed the Bills to run out the clock.
Here’s a look at how other Utah ties on active rosters performed on Saturday in the divisional round:
Packers 32, Rams 18
Green Bay
- Jordan Love, QB, Utah State: Not active for game.
- Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU: BYU’s all-time leading rusher had 12 carries for 65 yards, his best career postseason performance. Williams’ first four carries, for 22 yards, came during Green Bay’s first touchdown drive. On the Packers’ next possession, Williams had three straight carries: the first picked up 5 yards on a third-and-2 at the Rams 13, then he had carries of 4 and 3 yards to set up an Aaron Rodgers’ 1-yard TD run on third-and-goal.
Los Angeles
- Matt Gay, K, Utah and Orem High: Hit a 37-yard field goal and made an extra-point attempt.
Bills 17, Ravens 3
Buffalo
- Jordan Devey, OL, Snow College and American Fork High: Signed to active roster earlier this week; not active for game.
- Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State: See above.
Baltimore
- Tyler Huntley, QB, Utah: See above.