Brian Thomas Jr. gifts mom TD ball after breaking Jaguars’

Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterDec 15, 2024, 08:18 PM ET

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This time, Brian Thomas Jr. didn’t forget.

It took only 14 games, but the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ rookie receiver finally remembered to give his mom a football after a touchdown catch — and it turned out all those other times he didn’t remember meant Sondra Thomas ended up with a pretty special football.

It happened after his first touchdown in the Jaguars’ 32-25 loss to the New York Jets at EverBank Stadium, a 3-yard catch in the first quarter. That was his seventh touchdown catch of the season and gave him sole possession of the franchise’s rookie record for TD catches.

“She’s been wanting me to give her one,” Thomas said. “But every time I score, I just go to the sideline. I had never really thought about it. But I was like, ‘This time I’ll remember.’

“I remembered and I went and gave it to her.”

That was just the beginning of Thomas’ big day against the Jets. He finished with a career-high 10 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 64 catches for 956 yards this season. He broke Justin Blackmon’s rookie receiving yards record and tied his rookie catch record (64 for 865 in 2012).

That makes Thomas one of the few highlights in a disappointing season.

“He’s had a heck of a season for a rookie receiver, and not only here in Jacksonville, but in the NFL,” coach Doug Pederson said. “As he continues to grow and learn, he can get better. But I’ll tell you this: Gosh, he’s a good, humble kid that does work hard. And he has been a very, very big, bright spot for our offense all season.”

Mac Jones to Brian Thomas Jr.

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The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Thomas has done that despite an offense that has been ravaged by injuries. Receivers Christian Kirk (collarbone) and Gabe Davis (knee), tight end Evan Engram (shoulder), and quarterback Trevor Lawrence (shoulder/concussion) have suffered season-ending injuries. Until Sunday, quarterback Mac Jones had yet to lead the offense to more than 10 points in any of his three starts.

And until rushing for 136 yards against the Jets, the Jaguars’ run game had averaged just 69.3 yards per game in their past six games. So, Thomas has been pretty much the main — and sometimes only — offensive playmaker on the field. Yet despite defenses concentrating on him, Thomas has produced. He needs 44 yards to become just the third receiver the Jaguars have drafted to surpass 1,000 yards in the franchise’s 30-year history.

“As I came into the season, my expectation was just to be the best player that I could be, go out there and put in the work and just let that show for me,” Thomas said. “I came out wanting to just put my best foot forward each and every day. Just be the best I could be as a teammate and be the best I could be as a player and see where that takes me.”

Thomas also owns the most receiving yards (956) of any rookie receiver in the NFL this season — as of Sunday night.

“Obviously, we had high expectations coming out of camp with him,” Pederson said. “We had some pieces that we continued to run our offense out of, and really find a niche for Brian and really see what he’s capable of doing. But as the season progressed, you can see that he can handle more information. He can handle more responsibility.

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“And each week, we keep finding ways to load him up and he answers. That’s what you want from your top receiver.”

The one thing Thomas said would make this season better would be more victories.

“The goal is to be as good as a team,” he said. “I mean, it’s not really about personal accomplishments. You always want to be the best you can be as a team and the personal accomplishments will come with it.”

And more footballs for Mom, too.

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