Tarik Cohen had a punt return for a touchdown that had shades of great return men Dante Hall and Devin Hester.
Cohen fielded the punt at the 39-yard line. He ended up all the way back at the 24-yard line before he finally made his way up field, torching the 49ers for a touchdown.
Cohen’s a rookie that the Bears selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Runs like this one are why he’s earned the nickname “The Human Joystick.”
While that touchdown was officially 61 yards, he ran more than double that on the play:
I was so close!
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 3, 2017
Tarik Cohen, according to @NFLonCBS, ran 127 yards on his punt return. https://t.co/TdAkjUHctF
He also did something for the Bears that hadn’t been done in a long, long time. The person that did it was pretty dang good, too:
Tarik Cohen is the first Bear to score on a punt return vs. the 49ers since Gale Sayers in 1967. #BearDown
— ChiBearsPR (@ChiBearsPR) December 3, 2017
He told SB Nation at the NFL Combine that he felt his biggest strengths were his vision, and “the fact that I can make a play with the ball without getting like 20 carries a game.”
This was one touch, and it certainly made an impact on the game.