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Philly native Chris Myarick’s ‘crazy’ first career catch helped bury the Eagles

Chris Myarick is as Philly as they come. The Giants tight end was born in Elkins Park and went to Cheltenham High School before moving seven miles south to go to Temple University in North Philadelphia. So of course his first career NFL catch was a decisive touchdown for the Giants against their hated division rivals, opening up a 10-0 lead in a 13-7 win that had real implications on the fringes of the NFC playoff race.

“Crazy play. Crazy first regular season catch for me,” Myarick said Sunday. “It was just crazy for me personally — finally getting the sign up, and that’s the first touchdown of the game and it was coming to me. It was kind of a crazy experience.”

Myarick is right, because it isn’t just crazy that a Philly native caught his first career NFL pass for a touchdown in a huge moment. It’s how he ended up on the field, and how he caught it — or not.

Backup tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Kaden Smith were out with injuries, so Myarick was signed off the practice squad for the second straight week. Undrafted out of Temple in 2019, Myarick appeared in three games with the Dolphins the last two years before joining the Giants this fall.

“I’d say it was pretty much just like any other week for me,” the understated Myarick said after the win. “I always try to prepare like I’m playing, prepare like I’m starting, even when I was on the practice squad. Not much of that changed. Obviously, a little bit more reps here and there, but that was pretty much it.”

The catch itself was outrageous. The one-yard pass from Daniel Jones late in the third quarter bounced off his stomach and slid down his leg before Myarick used his knees to squeeze the ball and then got a hand under it. Or at least that’s what replay officials concluded, as it was hard to tell if the ball hit the ground.

In a statement, the NFL said that Myarick “bobbles the ball, but gets his left hand underneath the ball before it touches the ground,” and therefore it was a touchdown.

Asked Sunday, he said that the ball didn’t hit the ground. “It wasn’t the cleanest catch,” he said, “but it still counts. I’ll take it.”

The Giants will take it too. Jason Garrett’s firing was supposed to result in an increased emphasis on playmakers like Kenny Golladay and Saquon Barkley, but for the second straight game, Jones’ only touchdown went to an extremely unlikely source. (Tackle Andrew Thomas caught one in the blowout loss to the Bucs.)

But Myarick’s teammates were thrilled for him, telling him to go ahead and celebrate and they would worry about tracking down the ball later. “I was holding on to it at first and they wanted me to spike it,” he said. “Saquon went and got it for me. I appreciate him for that.”

The people in his life who probably don’t appreciate him much right now? Eagles fans, including his friends and family. He lost his Eagles fandom once he got closer to pro ball, saying “Once you get to college … you root for guys you know in the league.” But that doesn’t apply to everyone he knows, obviously. “They might be a little mad at me,” he said of the countless Eagles fans in his life, “but that’s all good. I’ll take our win for sure.”


Source: Berkshire mont

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