Dante Hall has the single best juke in the history of athletic competition pic.twitter.com/O1FtCBNKo3
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) July 22, 2019
Kansas City Chiefs legend Dante Hall is going into the Ring of Honor next year — largely due to his uncanny ability to make players miss in the open field.
Speaking to reporters after he was announced as the 52nd member of the Ring of Honor and the 48th player to be inducted, Hall was asked to recall his favorite play from the course of his career. He didn’t recall one of his many return touchdowns, but instead recalled the juke that he believes changed the course of his NFL career.
It was a 2002 road game against the Denver Broncos in Week 14. He caught five passes on six targets for 143 yards and two touchdowns during that game. On one of the touchdown passes, he unleashed one of the filthiest jukes in NFL history.
“I remember this one the best and it’s my favorite by far,” Hall said. “It’s the play in Denver – not the return here – the catch on the sideline, the spin, step back. Just aesthetically, just as a football fan, I love it the most.
“But it’s also the most important because at that time I was primarily just a return man, they would stick me in on gadget plays as a receiver but I remember coming in after that particular play and that particular game and having so many more plays designed and drawn up just for me.”
For Hall, he felt this was the tipping point where he became more than a return specialist for Kansas City. He felt he saw a lot more action in the game plan on offense from that point forward. It also allowed him to become a better return specialist as well.
“What that did was it allowed me to play more on offense which allowed me to get in the game and get in the groove more,” Hall said. “Which I think helped spring my actual return game because it was tough the first two years only being a return man – you’re not playing much on offense, you’re coming in cold, trying to make a play. You don’t get the flow and the speed of the game but after that I played in about 30 percent or 40 percent of the offense and the return game became much easier to me.”
This play has a special place in the heart of Hall and throughout the entirety of Chiefs Kingdom. It’s that much sweeter knowing that it came against the Broncos too.
