Redskins’ Vernon Davis Scores Emotional Touchdown After Grandfather Passes Away

Emotions can play a major role in the NFL, helping push players to otherworldly performances or distracting them at the worst possible moment. Vernon Davis of the Washington Redskins proved on Sunday afternoon that he can use emotions as the perfect motivation by scoring on a jaw-dropping 48-yard touchdown, in which he hurdled one Eagles defender and fought through the attempted tackles of two more.

What made this moment truly powerful for Davis is that he, unfortunately, lost a grandfather on Saturday. A loved one was no longer in his life, which made suiting up for Sunday’s game difficult. Davis was raised by his grandparents and had a very close relationship with them.

However, the 35-year-old tight end fought through the pain and scored this wildly impressive touchdown. And he responded by breaking down in tears.

The play in question occurred when the Redskins were facing a third-and-2 from the Eagles’ 48-yard line. Davis motioned into the backfield to trick the defenders into thinking that he was going to block for Redskins running back, Derrius Guice. At the snap, however, Davis headed on a route into the flat, where he brought in the pass from quarterback, Case Keenum and took off down the field.

Unfortunately for Davis, his emotional moment did not ultimately lead to victory for the Redskins. Philadelphia achieved victory by a score of 32-27, taking a one-game lead over their division rivals.

In 2018, the Washington Redskins fell to 7-9 on the season and finished third in the NFC East. This was a disheartening collapse after a promising 5-2 start, and it was primarily caused by injuries to multiple starters. For the veterans such as tight end Vernon Davis, this was a truly terrible way to finish the season, especially considering that he is nearing the end of a stellar career.

Despite the struggles, Davis still remains hopeful for the future of the Redskins. He told 247Sports in an exclusive interview that this team is being built the right way and will recover from the devastating injuries.

“I learned that this team has a bunch of young guys who are starving just to win, they want to win. They brought in a lot of guys from Alabama and those guys bring a great attitude and good leadership to the team. I know that if they continue to keep adding pieces, this team is going to be one of those teams that we are going to be looking at when it comes to the championship. They are really building that, I can see that. A lot of people probably couldn’t see it, they were oblivious to it because of all of the things we had to go through with being decimated by injuries. With me, I try to look at what’s going to happen, where this team is headed.”