In Super Bowl 58, San Francisco 49ers Jauan Jennings made some history, becoming the first wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl since the Pittsburgh Steelers Antwaan Randle El hit Hines Ward in Super Bowl XL.
Jennings’ throw was far more horizontal than Randle El’s, throwing back and across the field to RB Christian McCaffrey. Despite tons of traffic, the ball found McCaffrey’s hands, who darted upfield for a 21-yard touchdown, the first of the night.
Randle El’s throw was more impressive, a reverse he fired downfield to Ward, who broke behind the Seattle Seahawks’ defense for a 43-yard score. That score helped secure the Steelers’ fifth Super Bowl, winning 21-10 and becoming the first six-seed to ever hoist the Lombardi.
Randle El was a college quarterback at Indiana. Jennings played wide receiver at Tennessee but was a quarterback at Blackman High School. Here’s a clip of him leading an incredible comeback to beat Independence, scoring 28 fourth quarter points.
Jennings also dabbled in his quarterback roots while at Tennessee, completing this pass on an identical-looking concept to QB Josh Dobbs, who would go on to be drafted by the Steelers.
Through the first half, the 49ers have dominated the Chiefs. Their biggest enemy has been themselves, hurt by a Christian McCaffrey fumble on a promising opening drive combined with a handful of penalties to stall other possessions. Jennings’ touchdown pass put the 49ers up 10-0. As of this writing, the Chiefs are stringing together a late first half drive, trying to score before the break. Kansas City settled for a field goal, making it 10-3 at half.
In Super Bowl history, Jennings and Randle El are the only wide receivers to throw touchdown passes. Three running backs have done it: Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon, the Los Angeles Rams’ Lawrence McCutcheon, and Dallas’ Robert Newhouse. Tight end Trey Burton threw one with the Philadelphia Eagles in an upset over the New England Patriots in the 2017-2018 season.
