<
>

On career night, Robert Woods steals show with acrobatic catch

DETROIT -- Does anyone need two hands to catch in the NFL anymore?

With fans' jaws still dropping at New York Giants rookie Odell Beckham Jr.'s physics-defying grab Sunday night, Buffalo Bills receiver Robert Woods put on his own show Monday night.

In a play that quickly drew comparisons to David Tyree's incredible catch in Super Bowl XLII, the second-year Bills receiver pulled in an astonishing 27-yard pass from Kyle Orton in the second quarter of the Bills' 38-3 blowout win over the New York Jets.

On third-and-2, Woods streaked past Jets cornerback Darrin Walls down the right sideline, stretching out his right hand for Orton's pass. Bobbling the pass as he continued to run, Woods was able to momentarily pin it against his helmet while keeping his feet in bounds.

Talk about concentration.

"He could have caught it with two hands," teammate Sammy Watkins opined. "But being Robert, he wanted to go one-handed and it was a great catch."

Yet it wasn't Woods' only impressive grab of the night. Darting into the end zone on a third-and-goal in the first quarter, Woods turned his body and fell backward while snagging a 7-yard touchdown pass from Orton.

It was all in a day's work for Woods, a second-round pick last season who set career highs with nine catches for 118 yards.

Part of that production, coach Doug Marrone explained, was courtesy of the Jets shading their coverage to help take Sammy Watkins out of the game.

"If you look at it, they kept rolling everything to Sammy so it was difficult for us to get him the football," Marrone said. "Like I said before, when they do that you're going to need the other guys to step up because they're going to be in one-on-one coverage.

"I thought Robert really stepped up and played extremely well and if he doesn't then we're in trouble. That's just the way it is."

Compared to Woods' 11 targets, Orton threw at Watkins just five times and the rookie finished with three catches for 35 yards.

"When you're winning the game, you don't get caught up into that. If I was losing, it probably would've been a problem," Watkins said. "But when you're winning and seeing your boys, the team who you grind with every day, [Chris Hogan] and Robert making plays, it's nothing. But it can get scrapping if you're losing the game. But if we're winning, I'm fine."