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Parker Washington’s TD celebration ‘flop’ rocks Wembley Stadium and stuns fans

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Parker Washington’s TD celebration ‘flop’ rocks Wembley Stadium and stuns fans

The Jacksonville Jaguars faced an early 10-0 hole at Wembley Stadium and mounting questions.

With Jacksonville already 0-1 during its two-week London stay and rookie quarterback Drake Maye shredding the Jaguars’ defense on Sunday’s opening drive, Doug Pederson’s team required instant electricity.

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Parker Washington rocked Wembley with a brilliant 96-yard punt return TDCredit: Getty

Parker Washington heard the call and delivered.

Listed as Jacksonville’s backup punt returner, the 22-year-old from Sugar Land, Texas rocked Wembley with a brilliant 96-yard punt return for a perfectly timed touchdown that led to a 32-16 victory.

The TD celebration by the sixth-round draft pick from Penn State was even better.

Washington paused time, allowing for sprinting New England defenders to catch up, and turned around.

Then he flopped into the end zone, creating an instant viral video that left fans stunned.

“Oooooohhhh what a TOUCHDOWN!!!!” one fan tweeted.

“This is (a) clean return,” a second fan posted.

“That was brilliant,” a third fan wrote.

“Punt return TD was not on my week 7 bingo card,” a fourth fan said.

It was the first NFL TD on a return for Washington, who entered Sunday with 14 career punt returns and four kickoff runbacks.

Washington burned past the Patriots' defense

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Washington burned past the Patriots’ defenseCredit: x@nfl
He turned around and stared backward before scoring

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He turned around and stared backward before scoringCredit: x@nfl
Then he splashed into the end zone

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Then he splashed into the end zoneCredit: Getty

“It was special,” said Washington, who spent Saturday discussing how he would celebrate if he scored a TD.

The 96-yard sprint left Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson happily raising his arms, while quarterback Trevor Lawrence lifted his in a flying motion on the sideline.

Washington’s length-of-the field TD gave Jacksonville a 22-10 halftime lead, while the Jaguars outscored New England 22-0 after the early hole.

New England’s punter had a shot to stop Washington, but the Jaguars’ speedster made a quick cut and was gone.

Then he splashed in the end zone for the obvious highlight of the first half inside a buzzing Wembley.

“Fireworks in London! a fan tweeted.

And it was more than that.

Per ESPN research it was the first special teams touchdown to be scored in London – and by extension the longest in games across the pond, and was the Jags’ longest ever punt return for a touchdown

Jacksonville stretched its lead to 25-10 midway through the third quarter, outgaining the Patriots by more than 100 yards.

talkSPORT is your home of the NFL on UK radio, join us on Sunday from 1pm on talkSPORT2 for the New England Patriots @ Jacksonville Jaguars, live from Wembley Stadium.

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