Xavier Gipson became the hero for the New York Jets in their overtime win against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. Just a couple of weeks prior, the wide receiver and return specialist wasn’t even sure if he was going to be on the team in Week 1.
Gipson sent the MetLife Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he won the game with a walk-off touchdown (video here). The Jets defense got a stop in OT and forced a punt on 4th-and-12 from the Bills’ 23. The punt went to Gipson, who slipped past defenders to reach the end zone.
The Jets rookie’s name understandably spiked in popularity on social media after the play. The surge led to his heartwarming appearance on the HBO series finale of “Hard Knocks” to go viral.
The scene from the “Hard Knocks” finale showed Gipson being called in by Jets GM Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh for a serious conversation. The Jets decision-makers initially made it appear as though they were going to cut Gipson. Douglas started off by noting that the “odds were stacked against” the rookie.
But the concern on Gipson’s face turned into joy once Douglas finished his speech.
“We just want to let you know man, you’re a New York Jet,” the Jets GM said.
“Why did you scare me like that?” Gipson responded with a laugh.
Saleh followed with words that now sound eerily prophetic. The Jets coach told Gipson that the rookie was “going to do a lot of good things” for the Jets this season.
Scoring the game-winning touchdown in Week 1 certainly counts as a “good thing.”
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