COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Former Ohio State Buckeye Jaxon Smith-Njigba made his mark in more ways than one Monday night, turning a routine touchdown into a viral moment.
After catching an 11-yard pass from Sam Darnold to put the Seattle Seahawks up 14-0 on the Houston Texans, Smith-Njigba grabbed the football and slam-dunked it over the crossbar of the goalpost.
The act drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but it also punctuated another stellar performance from the NFL’s current receiving leader.
“That was very spontaneous,” Smith-Njigba said. “Definitely saw a lot of my favorites do it (growing up), but that was really on the spot right there.”
Smith-Njigba finished with eight receptions for 123 yards, marking his NFL-leading fifth 100-yard game of the season and the third straight — making him only the second player in Seahawks history to do so.
He leads the league with 819 receiving yards.
Teammate Cooper Kupp lauded his consistency.
“There’s nothing routine about what he’s been able to do productivity-wise,” Kupp said. “It’s very difficult. That’s difficult. Takes a lot of work to be able to do that. I think that’s the standard.”
Seattle’s won, 27-19.
The Seahawks improved to 5-2 and heads into its bye week tied atop the NFC West.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.