Not much went the New Orleans Saints’ way in the first half with the Seattle Seahawks, but it seemed like almost every bright moment surrounded Taysom Hill. The do-it-all tight end/quarterback/special teams ace helped rally his team in the first two quarters against Seattle, recovering a fumble on special teams and scoring a couple of touchdown runs, and he even returned a kickoff. Let’s check out his highlight reel:
TOUCHDOWN TAYSOM 🙌#SEAvsNO ⚜️ 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/vnVtdor0u4
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 9, 2022
Hill’s first touchdown run was a direct-snap carry up the middle, following left guard Andrus Peat as a pulling blocker crossing the formation with tight end J.P. Holtz lining up at fullback to work as his lead blocker. He ran 8 yards and bounced off of a couple of Seahawks defenders for the score.
Seahawks FUMBLE the punt!
Taysom Hill recovers it!!#SEAvsNO ⚜️ 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/N6XS0OEBeF
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 9, 2022
It still isn’t clear what Seattle planned here — either a rugby-style punt or a fake from deep inside their own territory. Either way, the Seahawks fumbled the ball and Hill was in position to fall on it and set up excellent field position for the offense.
Taysom Hill's SECOND TD of the day!
📺: #SEAvsNO on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/X4lelc0SFE pic.twitter.com/7PnqPUK1lI— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Hill’s second touchdown run of the day came from 9 yards out. He faked a pitch to wide receiver Chris Olave (who had motioned into the backfield) and then ran left behind some teach-tape blocking from Peat, left tackle James Hurst, and running back Dwayne Washington. They opened up enough space for Hill to jog into the end zone untouched.
What about the kick return? Look, maybe the less said the better. Hill actually fumbled at the end of his run, filling in for the injured Deonte Harty, but he managed to recover the ball at the bottom of the scrum. We’ll quickly jot this down in the “Win” column and move on.
