Los Angeles Chargers - Longest Touchdown Possible
November 4, 2007
There are a few NFL records that will never be broken. Flipper Anderson’s 336 yards receiving in a game comes to mind. LaDainian Tomlinson’s 31 touchdowns in a season and Emmitt Smith’s 18,000 career rushing yards seem untouchable with the state of rushing in the NFL. Brett Favre’s consecutive games streak seems safe even with new rules protecting quarterbacks. However, those could conceivably be beaten no matter how unlikely. Antonio Cromartie’s record field goal miss return would need to add extra space on the football field to break.
Cromartie was known for trying long returns, but this one obviously takes the cake. He went back to the endzone before the end of the half against the Minnesota Vikings as they attempted a really long field goal. It was short, and Cromartie reached up and almost fell backwards out of bounds. He was less than a foot from the end line, but he returned the ball anyway.
What did he have to lose? The half was going to be over anyway, so why not see what could happen? Well…
109-yard kick-six 🙌 (Nov. 4, 2007)
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) April 15, 2020
Happy 36th birthday to the man credited with the longest play in @NFL history, Antonio Cromartie! @CRO31 pic.twitter.com/AVBR4DRUQw
Here’s the thing about field goals: most of the players on the field are offensive linemen. There really isn’t any skill player there, and two other players are the kicker and the holder. So, Cromartie ran the ball through everyone and put another seven on the board for the Chargers. It was typical, as this was back when the Chargers were one of the most exciting teams in the league.