5 best one-game wonders in NFL history
Every Sunday in the NFL, we see players put up some amazing stat lines, be it passing yards, receiving yards, touchdowns, sacks or interceptions. We usually see these stat lines from the superstars of the league, such as Patrick Mahomes, Davante Adams or Aaron Donald.
On the rare occasion, however, we see the unexpected in the NFL, and players who were relative nobodies on Saturday, are the talk of America just 24 hours later. Sometimes, these players go on to make themselves household names across the league. Other times, they have one outstanding performance before falling into obscurity.
Here are five of the biggest one-game wonders in NFL history.
Best NFL One-Game Wonders Ever
#5 - Jeff Janis, WR, Green Bay Packers
Jeff Janis was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh-round of the 2014 NFL draft and spent the majority of his career as a special-teamer with the Packers.
However, Janis had one outstanding game that he will always be remembered for. In a 2015 NFC Divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, Janis would catch seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Janis would make two spectacular grabs, first catching an Aaron Rodgers deep pass on 4th and 20 on the final drive to keep the game alive for the Packers, and then topping that by catching a Rodgers 41-yard Hail Mary pass for a touchdown as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Following this outstanding game, Janis would return to obscurity, ending the following season with just 93 total receiving yards to go with a single touchdown.
Janis would be a Packer until 2017, and following a stint on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in 2018, his time in the NFL came to an end. His career stat line reads: 345 receiving yards and three touchdowns, making his performance against the Cardinals in 2015 a definite one-game wonder.
Give it up for Jeff Janis!
👏👏👏 #GoPackGo #GBvsAZ https://t.co/oOolLG2fVH
#4- Jonas Gray, RB, New England Patriots
After bouncing around the practice squads of the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted in the 2012 draft, Jonas Gray was picked up by the New England Patriots and found himself as the Pats' starting running back for the November clash against the Indianapolis Colts in 2014.
Gray, who had been a bit-part player for Bill Belichick up to this point, amassing 131 yards in three games, got a massive 37 carries against the Colts and went for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-20 victory for the Patriots.
With this breakout game, Gray became the first NFL player since 1921 to score four touchdowns in one game, having never scored one previously, and his 24 total points scored matched Marshawn Lynch for the highest total in the 2014 season.
Following this, Gray was touted for a breakout, but the very next week, he got zero carries for the Patriots. He would, however, get a Super Bowl ring following the Patriots' victory in Super Bowl XLIV against the Seattle Seahawks.
After the season, Gray was released and rejoined the Miami Dolphins, then the Jacksonville Jaguars, failing to make any sort of impact at either.
His career stat line reads as 588 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, 80% of which came in that game against the Colts.
Jonas Gray (Week 11): 37 carries, 201 yards, 4 TDs.
Jonas Gray (Week 12): 0 carries, 0 yards. http://t.co/bJVp9HDKqM