Inside Jevon Holland’s 99-yard pick-six vs. the Jets, from end zone to end zone
Safety Jevon Holland was one of three Dolphins defenders lined up near the end zone for the final play of the first half in Friday’s game against the New York Jets.
Quarterback Tim Boyle evaded Miami’s three-man rush before launching a Hail Mary attempt 50 yards downfield. As the football made its descent, Holland noticed his teammates boxing out the four New York pass-catchers hovering around.
Not only would Holland have a chance to intercept the pass — but maybe he could even bring it out of the end zone, he thought. Holland fielded the ball at the 1-yard line and what occurred next was one of the most memorable plays in recent Dolphins history.
Holland returned the interception for a 99-yard touchdown, weaving past a few Jets players and then juking Boyle before reaching the end zone. It left the crowd at MetLife Stadium stunned as Holland’s teammates mobbed him. Even Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel ran onto the field in hysteria, presumably thinking the half was over.
“All the skill positions were all down by me,” Holland said as he relived the play, “so when I caught it, it was basically like a drop on a long field goal. So, I kept it straight and then I ended up bending it to the right. I seen all linemen and I seen Christian [Wilkins] and Zach [Sieler] and all those guys, so I knew had lead blockers. I needed to find my little crease. Boom, then I seen Christian handle the running back. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m good.’ Then it was just me and the quarterback. Unfortunately, I had to take his ankles.”
The takeaway and score was a momentum-changing play for Miami after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a pick-six that gave the Jets their first points of the game and then another interception that gave New York the ball back with two seconds left. The Dolphins went on to win the game comfortably, 34-13.
“That was absolutely a huge momentum swing that there are very few players that could have pulled off what Jevon did,” McDaniel said. “I think Jevon’s the type of player that has very high aspirations of himself and our team knows he can be the best player on the field at any given moment. He’s watched a ton of Ed Reed tape and that was very reminiscent of Ed Reed for sure, so that was a cool moment that nobody on this team that was on the field will forget that particular play and that’s pretty special when you’re talking about that it will probably be the first play people think of when you think back to this game, so it was a big-time play and something that our team needed.”
It was the first interception of the season for Holland, who has been one of the defense’s top performers this season. The pick-six was the third-longest interception return in franchise history and the longest since 2002.
“Man, that was crazy,” wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “That’s one of, like, the best plays I’ve ever seen, as far as timing. They were kind of grabbing momentum before the half. So, to make a play like that before the half to give us points, it was crazy.”
Though he’s a defensive player, Holland is no stranger to having the ball in his hands. He played wide receiver while in high school in the Bay Area, was a punt returner at Oregon and also handled punt return duties in his first two seasons in the NFL.
And in the NFL’s first Black Friday game, he was able to live out every defensive player’s dream.
“Scoring on defense is huge,” Holland said. “It’s hard to get a pick-six. ... It is difficult. So, when I had the opportunity, I was like, ‘Oh, I need that.’ And then everybody blocking in front of me, I knew they felt the same thing: I’m trying to get in the [end] zone.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2023 at 9:16 PM.
