New England Patriots

Patriots' Shea McClellin Leaps Over Center to Block Field Goal (Video)

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Baltimore Ravens looked poised to take a 3-2 lead over the New England Patriots, but linebacker Shea McClellin had other (impressive) plans.

A vast majority of the first quarter of Monday Night Football between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens was about tenacity. Through the first nine-ish minutes, the only score of the game came from a safety as New England swarmed Kenneth Dixon after they pinned the Ravens at their own 1-yard line. Amidst all of the grit, though, Patriots linebacker Shea McClellin figured to throw in a bit of flash into the game with another incredible special teams play.

Baltimore moved the ball down the field the best that they had all night long, thanks largely to a fullback screen. However, the drive stalled when they got deeper into Patriots territory. Lucky for them, they’ve been one team largely immune to kicking woes, thanks to the reliable Justin Tucker. But sometimes, there’s nothing that even Tucker can do.

Those times often involve doing something like what McClellin did to the Ravens kicking unit. With the cameras lined up behind Tucker, you could see the linebacker timing his run. Indeed, he timed it perfectly and then skied to cleanly leap right over the center/long-snapper. He was then all alone in front of the holder before the Ravens even knew what to do, coming up with a big block to keep Baltimore shut out:

Wow.

Shea McClellin hurdles the line to block the @jtuck9 FG attempt. 😳 #BALvsNE https://t.co/iMrjZjvask

— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2016

Obviously this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen this type of play. However, it may be the most effortless that we’ve seen it look because of McClellin’s timing.

Most times, this play consists of the player struggling to get his legs up to clear the line. However, the Patriots linebacker makes it look easy as he gets over the center and keeps his feet with ease. This isn’t a play you see every day—even if it’s not the rarest—and this still might be one of the most impressive examples of it yet.