The Ty Johnson renaissance continues with Bills playoff win, eye-opening Josh Allen comment
Johnson made a huge touchdown grab to help propel the Bills to the Divisional Round.
Ty Johnson has had his ups and downs throughout a six-season NFL career, but he's enjoyed a renaissance this year in Buffalo and no moment was bigger for the former Maryland football star than Sunday's.
Clinging onto a 13-7 lead over the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills faced fourth-and-1 from the Broncos 24 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen kept the play alive with his feet, scrambling to his right and launching the ball to the back of the end zone from about the Denver 35.
There to make a spectacular lunging grab? Johnson.
Johnson somehow got one knee in bounds before his foot went out of bounds, and his 24-yard touchdown catch with 3:06 left in the frame gave the Bills a 19-7 lead, which became a 21-7 advantage after Keon Coleman's two-point catch.
The Bills won, 31-7, at home, and Johnson's catch was the play of the game.
"Well, I've been saying it all year long, Ty Johnson's the best third-down back in football," Allen told Tracy Wolfson in his CBS postgame interview. "The things that he's able to do for us, the way we communicate, him in the pass game, blocking and running the ball – he does it all. I'm so happy for him, so proud of him. He made a heck of a play. It was fourth down, no point in holding it, taking a sack there. They played man and just gave him a chance."
Johnson also had nine carries for 44 yards against the Broncos, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He had two catches for 26 yards and the score. He also had two kick returns for 59 yards, including a 33-yard return.
Johnson appeared in all 17 games for the Bills this season, making one start. He had 41 carries for 213 yards and a touchdown and 18 catches for 284 yards and a career-high three receiving touchdowns.
It has been quite the journey for Johnson, who was selected by the Detroit Lions with the No. 186 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He played in 16 games as a rookie and two as a second-year pro for Detroit before being waived on Oct. 1, 2020. The New York Jets picked him up the next day, and he had a decent three years with the team, rushing for 652 yards and four touchdowns and catching 62 passes for 559 yards and three touchdowns in 44 games.
The Jets released Johnson on April 26, 2023, and the Bills signed him on Aug. 21, 2023. He was waived eight days later, then signed to the practice squad. The odds of him staying in the league and becoming a weapon for a Super Bowl contender were beyond slim.
But was elevated by Buffalo on Oct. 20, 2023, staying with the team throughout the regular season and postseason. The Bills re-signed Johnson on March 19, 2024, a one-year, $1,292,500 deal, per Spotrac. He has over $5.5 million in career earnings.
Johnson and the Bills are three wins away from the franchise's first Super Bowl, but the path will get tougher. The Bills will host Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the AFC Divisional round next week.
