Asante Samuel knows a thing or two about making huge plays in critical situations in a game. The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback once led the league in interceptions in 2006 and ’09 and earned two Super Bowls with the Patriots during his NFL career.
But in the Chargers’ 27–24 loss to the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football, it was Samuel’s son, Asante Jr., who needed to come up with a monumental play that could have changed the outcome of the game.
As the Chargers led 17–7 in the third quarter, Samuel nearly came up with an interception on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes but failed to fully secure the ball. While officials initially ruled the play an interception, the call was overturned as the ball bounced off Asante Jr.'s knee and fell to the ground.
The elder Samuel tweeted the perfect response to his son dropping the ball and not taking advantage of the opportunity.
“If I was his teammate I would whisper in his ear ‘you just dropped a million dollars,’” he tweeted during the game, adding the hashtag, “pick 6.”
However, the elder Samuel could not be too hard on his son as he dropped several passes that could have been interceptions during his NFL career, including a massive one on a pass former Giants quarterback Eli Manning in Super Bowl XLII in 2008. On the next play, Manning connected on a pass with David Tyree in what is known as the “Helmet Catch” that led to the Giants’ 17-14 upset for the Lombardi Trophy.
Samuel also tweeted that after he had enough key drops for interceptions, he found a way to get better. “I dropped 8-10 interceptions my 2nd year, 4 in one game. I went and got me a nerf ball and got rite. #pick6,” Samuel said.
Despite the Chargers’ loss, the younger Samuel has a promising NFL career ahead of him. However, like his father, he, too, might need to find an alternative solution to ensure that he makes the big plays with the game on the line.
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