The story behind Will McDonald’s heroic block for Jets

In the New York Jets’ 29-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, defensive end Will McDonald delivered a stunning special teams touchdown in the final minutes, briefly giving New York the lead after they had trailed by three scores earlier in the half.

Trailing by six points with less than two minutes left, Tampa Bay lined up for a field goal that would have effectively ended the game by stretching the margin to two scores. Instead, disaster struck for the Buccaneers, and hope entered the atmosphere for the Jets.

McDonald leaped over the line, swatted the kick, scooped up the loose ball, and raced it back for a shocking touchdown that flipped the lead in New York’s favor.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, special teams Chris Banjo lauded the Iowa State product for executing the play they had worked on throughout the week leading up to the game.

“It was a play we worked on throughout the week,” said the first-year coordinator. “When I was watching, I saw him looking between the legs of the snapper and the guard, and I was like, ‘We didn’t work on that, Will, what are you looking at?’ But then, I saw him make it over, and I was just praying that he made it over quickly, which he did, and at that point, everything turned to slow motion for me, and sure enough, he was able to do his thing.”

McDonald’s blocked field goal returned for a touchdown marked the Jets’ first touchdown of its kind since Ray Mickens accomplished the feat against the Raiders in 1997, a game in which current head coach Aaron Glenn was on the field as a player.

In his first season as special teams coordinator, Banjo has guided the unit to a strong start. The Jets currently rank second in Pro Football Focus’ special teams grades at 90.0, behind only the 2-1 Washington Commanders (90.6).

While the heroic play didn’t help contribute to New York’s first win of the season, it will go down as a memorable moment in Jets history and McDonald’s career.