Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge was summoned into Thursday’s game after Drake London left for a second time.
On the first possession of overtime, Hodge, a stalwart on special teams, ran a short check-down route and turned it into a 45-yard walk-off touchdown to help the Falcons stake a claim to first place in the NFC South with a 36-30 overtime victory over the Bucs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Check down for 5,” Hodge said of his route. “Went down and I knew I had to take advantage of every opp. Kirk trusted me on that little stop route.”
Hodge had some separation and he knew what to do next.
“Got behind the coverage and when I (saw) green I just took off,” Hodge said. “I said I can’t get caught at this moment, the guys are going to be on my (case) if I do. Yeah, I scored and it’s still surreal right now. I can’t believe it to be honest.”
Hodge normally plays on special teams. He recovered a ball in the end zone for a touchdown in the 26-24 win over the Saints on Sunday.
“If I can contribute any type of way, that’s a blessing,” Hodge said. “I said earlier, I like to call myself, and the guys like to tease me, when I call myself the Swiss army knife. I do everything. Punt, punt return, kickoff. I’m making tackles. I catching balls. I try to do everything.”
The Falcons’ offense was shredding the Bucs’ secondary.
Hodge finished with two catches for 67 yards.
“Like I said, for them to trust me in this moment, I’m just so grateful and I thank God for it,” Hodge said.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Hodge, who played in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at Prairie View A&M. The Falcons are his fourth team. He’s played with the Rams, Lions and Browns.
This is his third season with the Falcons. He carved out a niche on special teams.
“I came from an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities),” Hodge said. “Just to get it out of the mud, you’ve got to wake up with that mindset that I’m going to get it out of the mud every day. Take advantage of every opportunity whether if it’s on (special) teams or on offense. You just have that mindset to not quit because adversity is going to hit.”
What that happens he has a plan.
“You just have to keep going,” Hodge said.
The win was important for the Falcons.
“Huge,” Hodge said. “Any division win is big. Right now, we are sitting 2-0. We are 3-2. Something like that. Huge win for the team and gives us momentum going into next week. We work hard. To get this outcome is amazing.”
London had himself a game too, catching 12 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.
“We don’t blink,” London said. “Straight resilience. I’m really, really pleased. If one aspect of the team is not doing too hot or maybe something just went wrong, the other (part of the team) is going to pick them up whether if it’s special teams or defense. I’m really happy how we just came together as a team.”
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney had nine catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was a nice flow,” Mooney said. “There were some mistakes out there, but I mean it’s football. Mistakes are going to happen. It was good to get the dub (win). Just get the ball in overtime, because we knew our two-minutes offense is unbelievable.”
Mooney enjoyed Hodge’s catch-and-run.
“That was good, but he was running super slow though,” Mooney said. “He got in the end zone.”
Tight end Kyle Pitts who had seven catches for 88 yards also had a great view.
“I felt like that was amazing,” Pitts said. “I feel like we’ve seen Red (Hodge’s nickname) do that before. So, that was something that I knew he had in his bag and I was glad to see him do it.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris was having a good time on the sidelines. He jumped in Kirk Cousins’ face after the QB drove them into position for the field goal to force overtime.
He was having a good time with the team, but when it was time to discuss the win and Hodge’s score he was measured and composed.
“The guys play well, they play hard, they played until the end,” Morris said.
Morris had one word for Cousins’ play: “Outstanding.”
On Cousins’ play in overtime: “Outstanding.”
On the pass to Hodge that won the game and the celebration that ensued: “The guys went out there and played together,” Morris said. “That was the most important thing ... they played for each other.”
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