ASHBURN — By the time Dustin Hopkins had flipped his hips in his pursuit of J.D. McKissick, the Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver was well on his way to a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown.
The special teams miscue, compounded by second year safety Deshazor Everett running offsides on the kickoff, was an ugly start to the third quarter of last week’s 23-17 loss to the Falcons.
It was also the first time that Hopkins had been part of a kickoff returned for a touchdown since the eighth grade. It never happened at Clear Lake High School in Houston or at Florida State and he hopes it never happens again in an NFL game.