There’s nothing more fun in football than seeing a fat guy touchdown.
As the legendary announcer John Madden once said in the classic sports movie The Replacements: “I love to see a fat guy score.” “Why?” asks partner Pat Summerall. “Because first you get a fat guy spike, then you get the fat guy dance.”
While that may not happen every time a big guy gets into the endzone, the sentiment is spot on.
Watching a 300-plus-pound guy barrel his way through guys half his size is as entertaining as anything in a football game. Whether it’s a defensive player getting a chance to play offense, a lineman returning a turnover for a touchdown, or a big man doing his best Tom Brady impression, seeing a fat guy score is always a memorable experience.
Here are the 9 best “fat guy” touchdowns from the 2016 (college and NFL) football season:
9. Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans
Who says offensive linemen can’t get in on the scoring action?
The 6’8”, 315-pound left tackle scored on a designed play in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts after a short pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota. Lewan blocks against the charging defensive end for a quick moment and then snaps around for the pass before taking it into the endzone:
🚨🚨 BIG MAN TD ALERT! 🚨🚨
Marcus Mariota –> @TaylorLewan77 –> @TITANS TD! #INDvsTEN https://t.co/oxBKwljtpq
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2016
8. Robert Mathis, Indianapolis Colts
Same game, slightly different result. After the Colts rush gets to Marcus Mariota and forces a fumble, the 6’2”, 245-pound linebacker is in perfect position to scoop up the ball. Mathis rumbles 20-yards untouched for the score:
🚨🚨 BIG MAN TD ALERT! 🚨🚨@RobertMathis98 to the HOUSE! #INDvsTEN https://t.co/FFtpK9eMtm
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2016
7. Dontari Poe, Kansas City Chiefs
Poe has made a habit of finding his way into the endzone, all 346 pounds of him.
In 2015 he became the heaviest player in league history to score a rushing touchdown and during the 2016 season he set another record: The heaviest player to ever throw a touchdown pass. Poe channeled his inner Tim Tebow for this score against the Denver Broncos in Week 16, taking the snap and faking a run before pulling off an amazing jump pass to Albert Wilson:
Dontari Poe is the 1st player ever to throw a TD pass & record a sack in the same game https://t.co/aJ4gDO7qWT
— Dave Kropp (@kroppdavid) December 26, 2016
That pass wasn’t even Poe’s first touchdown of the season—in Week 6 against the Oakland Raiders he caught a bubble screen pass from Alex Smith and punched in a score (even though he caught it, it was ruled a rushing TD since it was a lateral pass behind the line of scrimmage):
🚨🚨 BIG MAN TD ALERT! 🚨🚨@PoeMans_dream is listed at 346lbs…
And he just caught a TD from Alex Smith! https://t.co/SGHbZqZper— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2016
6. Forrest Lamp, Western Kentucky
Apart from having one of the best names in all of football, the 6’4”, 295-pound offensive lineman also has some pretty nifty agility for a big man. In the Boca Raton Bowl against Kentucky, Lamp takes a screen pass on the left side of the field and takes it 15 yards into the endzone without any defenders getting a hand on him:
5. Ronald Ollie, Nicholls State
The 6’2″, 310-pound defensive lineman was a star on the Netflix series Last Chance U and in this game against Houston Baptist in October, he was a star on the field. Ollie blocks a field goal on one end of the field, scoops it up, then outruns everyone for an amazing 84-yard touchdown:
#SLCFB: @GeauxColonels 6'2" 310 Ronald Ollie blocks FG & rumbles 84 yards for TD vs. HBU (PXP call by @bryantjohnson1). #piesman pic.twitter.com/YxlBi3o8KD
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) October 16, 2016
4. Donald Penn, Oakland Raiders
This touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 was a sweet one for Penn since it tied the score for the Raiders at 10-10, but it was even sweeter since Penn was previously cut by the Bucs three years prior. The score was Penn’s fourth of his career and he showed some great hands on the play:
🚨🚨 BIG MAN TD ALERT! 🚨🚨@DPENN70 finds the end zone against hit former squad #OAKvsTB https://t.co/QIwTbeZLVH
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2016
3. Brian O’Neill, Pittsburgh Panthers
The 6′ 6″, 300-pound right tackle has basically become the master of the fat guy touchdown in college football. O’Neill had two impressive scores during the 2016 season, including this one against Georgia Tech on Oct. 8 that had the defense totally surprised:
Rumble, big man, rumble. #Pitt 6-foot-6, 300-pound OL Brian O'Neill (former TE) with the TD. Love it. #H2P pic.twitter.com/rWlmgZg1m1
— Stephen Nelson (@StephenNelson) October 8, 2016
Just a couple weeks later, O’Neill struck again on a reverse run play, this time against Virginia Tech while Pitt was trailing in the fourth quarter:
BRIAN O'NEILL
Tonight was the lineman's 2nd TD for @Pitt_FB this season… #Legendary #H2P pic.twitter.com/RRUJOP7nw0
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) October 28, 2016
2. Calais Campbell, Arizona Cardinals
The 6’8”, 300-pound defensive end took advantage of a strip by Markus Golden on Saints quarterback Drew Brees, snatching up the ball and powering his way to a 53-yard touchdown. The score was his first touchdown since his high school football career:
RT ChatSports: Calais Campbell brings in a Drew Brees fumble and returns it 53 yards for a touchdown! #NOvsAZ pic.twitter.com/VPqooPx2Li
— Green Machine (@99RaiderNation) December 18, 2016
1. Caraun Reid, San Diego Chargers
This play by the 6′2″, 304-pound defensive end had it all: A fantastic move to jar the ball loose, a perfect scoop of the fumble by Reid, and then a 61-yard burst that showed that fat guys can be fast too. (He previously scored a TD back in 2015 with the Detroit Lions after a Russell Wilson fumble.) But the icing on the cake was the end—Reid gives everyone the fat guy dance we’re always looking for:
https://twitter.com/SportsCast_THN/status/780169009987661824
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