Aaron Craver's controversial kick return TD is the Saints Play of the Day
There are 100 days standing between us and the start of the New Orleans Saints' 2025 regular season, which makes this 100-yard kick return touchdown by Aaron Craver our pick for the Saints Play of the Day. Drafted as a running back, Craver did most of his damage in the NFL as a receiver, but the most memorable moment of his career came on a surprise score against the Minnesota Vikings back in 1998.
Craver appeared to be hit by Vikings linebacker Pete Bercich before slipping and falling to the turf, and the players around him came to a stop, thinking the play was dead. But Craver noticed there was no whistle from the officiating crew, so he climbed back to his feet and ran through the confused Minnesota coverage unit, crossing the field for a score. The Vikings challenged the ruling but were unable to overturn the play. It was a good way to make up for an earlier fumble on special teams that led to points for the opposing team. You can see it all here.
The Saints needed all the lucky breaks they could get against one of the best teams in the NFL. They kept it close late into the fourth quarter, until Minnesota's pass rush brought Billy Joe Tolliver down on three consecutive plays to close it out. New Orleans fell to 4-5, while the Vikings improved to 8-1, well on their way to an incredible season that ended with brutal heartbreak in a season-ending overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
As for Craver? He returned to New Orleans for the 1999 season but only fielded one more kickoff, gaining just 3 yards on the try. He called it a career after appearing in 103 regular season games with the Saints, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and San Diego Chargers, plus five playoff games between his time with Miami and Denver. He did well for himself as a third-round pick and went down as one of the 12 players out of 28 drafted in Round 3 who went on to play at least 100 games in the NFL. That he managed to sustain his career and try his hand at so many different things is commendable, and he won his place in Saints history with this touchdown against the Vikings.
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