BALTIMORE — The thought crossed Tarik Cohen’s mind as he wound up to throw to an open Zach Miller: Could I be the shortest person to ever throw a touchdown in NFL history?
Not quite. But the 5-foot-6 Cohen was the shortest player to throw a touchdown since Wee Willie Smith, a former defensive back and tailback for the New York Giants, threw one in 1934.
“Wee Willie? Shout-out to Wee Willie,” Cohen said, upon being told of that information. “I’m Wee ‘Rik.”
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The Bears took a 10-3 lead on Cohen’s 21-yard floater to Miller, the latest trick play deployed by offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains since Mitchell Trubisky took over as starting quarterback in Week 5. Cohen became the first Bears running back since Adrian Peterson in 2007 to throw a touchdown, too.
Cohen said he threw for four touchdowns in college at North Carolina A&T, though the statistics from that school show he threw for two. FCS stats are sometimes spotty; either way, the point is he’s done this before. And it makes sense: Cohen’s ability to be explosive on the edge means opposing defenses will sell out to stop him.
That’s what the Ravens did on Cohen’s touchdown. He read safety Eric Weddle crashing toward the line of scrimmage, so even though he couldn’t see Miller flashing open, he knew he would be. Cohen said he might’ve thrown the pass a little too high — “it was like a movie scene,” in slow motion, Cohen added — but hey, it still worked.
“It was a dime,” Cohen said. “I feel like I channeled my inner Mitch.”
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So how did the Bears quarterback feel about Cohen’s throw?
“A-plus, on the money,” Trubisky said. “Dime ball. He’s awesome. I knew it was going to be a touchdown when it was called.”