Jevon Holland’s 99-yard pick-six Friday against the Jets cost one NFL sponsor around $1 million.
With his interception and touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half, TCL, which is the NFL’s television sponsor, needed to give away 84 98-inch screens as part of its weekly “Ultimate Gameday Upgrade Giveaway.”
TCL confirmed the giveaway would actually occur in a post on X, and it wrote in the statement that it was “pending official NFL certification of the game stats.”
The 98-inch televisions corresponded with the weekly event being a 98-yard touchdown while others in past weeks included a player recording 220 or more rushing yards, a safety occurring in a game, a player passing for 470 or more yards and five passing touchdowns by a single player.
When the Jets intercepted Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the second time in 70 seconds near the end of the first half Friday, they had about two seconds to operate with and trailed 10-6.
Cornerback Brandin Echols had just returned the first interception for a touchdown, generating points that a sputtering Gang Green offense — trying Tim Boyle at quarterback — couldn’t, and Robert Saleh opted to attempt a Hail Mary pass to remain aggressive instead of ending the opening frame by kneeling.
But everything backfired, with Holland intercepting Boyle’s pass and racing up field, untouched by any Jets player, for the touchdown.
“Just a very unfortunate play at the end of the half, when we felt like we had captured momentum, cut it to a four-point game and gave it right back to them,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Friday. “Obviously, it took away the momentum that we had built.”
Holland traveled 124 yards during the play, which marked the most by an NFL player on a play from scrimmage this season, according to Next Gen Stats.
It was the first time that a Hail Mary had been returned for a pick-six since ESPN started tracking that type of play in 2006, according to the outlet.
The Jets lost to the Dolphins, 34-13, for their fourth consecutive defeat as their postseason hopes all but evaporated — they currently sat at 1 percent following the game, according to ESPN.
They didn’t come close to generating a 98-yard play on offense, either, as Boyle only threw for 179 yards and just four passes resulted in gains of more than 10 yards.
