Jonas Gray Makes a Little NFL History With His Performance Sunday Night
Jonas Gray accomplished a rare feat during the Patriots win over Indy. (USA TODAY Images) |
Patriots running back Jonas Gray obviously made quite a bit of noise on Sunday night following his 4-touchdown performance against the Indianapolis Colts, but he also managed to put himself into the NFL record books.
According to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, Gray now stands as the first player since at least 1940 to rush for as many touchdowns as the rest of the NFL's rushers combined in a given week.
Wesseling points out that only Kansas City running backs Jamaal Charles (2) and Knile Davis (1), along with Green Bay's Eddie Lacy (1) scored rushing touchdowns on Sunday, with that combined total matching Gray's. That could change Monday night should someone from the Pittsburgh Steelers or Tennessee Titans rush for a score, but either way it shouldn't diminish his accomplishment.
Another stat highlighted was the fact that Gray's four-touchdown outing was the first by a player without a previous NFL touchdown since 1921.
Gray carried 38 times for 199 yards during Sunday night's win, which included the team converting 9-of-12 (75%) 3rd downs along with 33 first downs total, 17 of which were via the rush. Gray accounted for 15 of them.
He also scored each of his touchdowns through four different gaps, scoring over Right Guard (1st) , up the Middle (2nd), over Right Tackle (3rd) and over Left Tackle: (4th).