One-handed flips to the trickiest trick play: the 2023 season’s best touchdowns

1) Courtland Sutton for the Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills

Perhaps one of the most stunning touchdowns ever scored in the NFL, due to the unlikelihood – 3.2% according to the prediction models – that the pass could be completed at all. We start with Russell Wilson faking the handoff, backpedaling and then spinning to avoid a defender. When you first watch, you assume, like the Bills defensemen and the entire refereeing crew, that the laws of physics simply won’t allow Sutton to make the catch while he’s still in the game. Joe Buck agreed, until he had a dramatic change of heart mid-sentence: “He didn’t come down to earth!?” Colorado Ballet should rearrange their lead February performance of Jekyll and Hyde.

2) Jack Jones for the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers trail 49-7 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Their head coach Brandon Staley is already on his way out the door, a generous reprieve after pundit Richard Sherman called for him to be fired at halftime. In the next sequence, Staley wished he had been. Los Angeles backup quarterback Easton Stick gets battered from behind to force a fumble with a 326-pound nose tackle John Jenkins comes in for a scoop and score. So far so bad. Three plays later, Jones expects a swing pass with such lightning speed and devastating athleticism that he runs over the ball and has to stretch back to intercept the ball with one hand. A few steps later he is home. To his eternal credit, Stick seems to smile at his role in bringing this beauty into the world.

3) Jevon Holland for the Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets

With two seconds left in the first half, the New York Jets trail the Miami Dolphins 10-6. One score down against an attacking juggernaut certainly feels acceptable. Tim Boyle also starts his first game in New York at quarterback. Feed the ball, take stock and come out fighting next quarter. Ah fuck it, call the Hail Mary, take charge, what’s the worst that can happen? Good. For starters, Boyle’s throw is three feet from the end zone and comes to rest in Holland’s arms. Things get worse as the safety shifts across the grass, around two would-be tacklers in Miami’s half. The final blow is dealt in midfield. Holland sticks his foot in the grass and goes inside two defenders, following the excellent tandem blocks of Bradley Chubb and Christian Wilkins. In another block, he races past two more Jets after a skip to his left that Boyle sells so hard that he falls over at the 15-yard line, allowing Holland to run in for the score with a 99-yard pick-six.

4) Tee Higgins for the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Minnesota Vikings

Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans thinks he has Higgins on toast. Big mistake. Higgins jumps in front of him on the one-yard line to catch Jake Browning’s all-or-nothing throw. Only it’s not as deep as Browning wanted, so the receiver’s jump takes him out of the scoring zone while he’s looking the wrong way. Luckily, Higgins is a part-time contortionist: he starts falling out of bounds, putting the ball in his right hand as he knocks it back to stroke the point over the pylon for the score. On its own it’s magical, when combined with the touchdown that ties the game at 24-24 with 39 seconds left to give the Bengals the runway for an epic comeback victory, it’s otherworldly.

5) David Montgomery for the Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Chargers

This was the highlight for David Montgomery in a fantastic first season with the Lions, and it also helped secure a narrow victory. Detroit’s offensive line rolls up their opposites and blows open a gap for Montgomery. A punishing block from Jameson Williams late in the run also helps matters.

6) The San Francisco 49ers’ trick play against the Dallas Cowboys

Kyle Shanahan digs deep into his bag of tricks for what would be the start of a long three quarters for Dallas. Brock Purdy passes it to Christian McCaffrey, who hands it to Deebo Samuel, who then passes it back to Purdy, now 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He launches a throw to the wide open George Kittle as he takes a huge hit from a defender. The tight end grabs the ball in stride and rumbles in for the 38-yard touchdown. The timing would make a Swiss watch proud. The Cowboys still have no idea what hit them.