Cam Taylor-Britt talked the talk and walked the walk.
Ahead of the AFC grudge match between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Bengals cornerback threw shade at the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl winner’s rookie wide receiver, Xavier Worthy.
Taylor-Britt made the remarkable one-handed interception on a Patrick Mahomes passAP
Worthy, the fastest player in NFL history in the 40-yard dash, stole the show against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 with a two-touchdown performance in what was his regular season debut.
However, Taylor-Britt was unimpressed with what he saw from the 21-year-old wideout, downplaying Worthy’s talent outside of his speed.
“Speed, that’s about it,” Taylor-Britt told reporters earlier last week. “He can run straight. Run jet sweeps and just run straight. He can’t do too much else, so that’s about it.”
“I feel like if you put your hands on him, he’s only a hundred-something pounds. If you put hands on him, you’re going to stop his speed. So basically get your hands on him.”
Taylor-Britt backed his big talk up in Sunday’s game by pulling off a sensational, Odell Beckham Jr-esque one-handed interception on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
OBJ’s famous one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 remains one of the greatest in NFL history and catapulted him to superstardom.
Taylor-Britt’s catch came as the third quarter at Arrowhead was ending and Mahomes made a downfield throw toward Worthy on the left flank.
However, the third-year pro anticipated the ball and stepped in front of Worthy, got his hand up in the air and hauled in Mahomes’ second interception of the afternoon.
“Wow. That was Odell Beckham-esque except on the defensive side,” CBS color analyst Tony Romo said on the broadcast. “That’s a highlight reel for a long time.”
“Wow, you’re not kidding,” play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz said. “It’s just jaw-dropping. You don’t see defensive backs make plays like that.”
The Bengals CB stole the ball from Worthy’s arms after trash talking him earlier in the weekGetty
It was reminiscent of OBJ’s one-handed catch for the New York Giants a decade ago
“You don’t see anybody make plays like these,” Romo added. “That’s incredible.”
The play sent the game into the fourth quarter and gave the Bengals possession of the ball while holding a 22-17 lead.
On their next possession, Bengals QB Joe Burrow was taken down on a scramble and cornerback Chamarri Conner scooped up his fumble and ran 38 yards for the go-ahead score and a 23-22 Chiefs lead.
Cinci kicker Evan McPherson then connected on a 53-yard field goal with 9:28 left in the fourth quarter to give the road team a slender two-point advantage.
But then a crucial pass interference penalty by Daijahn Anthony on a fourth-and-16 in the final minute gave the Chiefs an opportunity to win the game.
The 29-yard penalty gave the Chiefs an automatic first down and they wound down the clock to set up kicker Harrison Butker’s game winner.
Butker made no mistake with the game-winning 51-yard field goal and the Chiefs came away with a hard fought 26-25 victory to move to 2-0 for the season.
The Bengals, meanwhile, continued their sluggish start to the campaign by dropping to 0-2.
This was Taylor-Britt’s fifth career interception. Although it came in a loss to a fierce rival, it will be remembered as one of the biggest defensive plays of the year.
Watch the first episode of our brand new show ‘Run Down’ on the talkSPORT dedicated NFL channel
