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Every Sunday in the NFL, we see players put up some amazing stat lines, be it passing yards, receiving yards, touchdowns, sacks or interceptions. We usually see these stat lines from the superstars of the league, such as Patrick Mahomes, Davante Adams or Aaron Donald.
On the rare occasion, however, we see the unexpected in the NFL, and players who were relative nobodies on Saturday, are the talk of America just 24 hours later. Sometimes, these players go on to make themselves household names across the league. Other times, they have one outstanding performance before falling into obscurity.
Here are five of the biggest one-game wonders in NFL history.
Best NFL One-Game Wonders Ever
#5 - Jeff Janis, WR, Green Bay Packers
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Jeff Janis was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh-round of the 2014 NFL draft and spent the majority of his career as a special-teamer with the Packers.
However, Janis had one outstanding game that he will always be remembered for. In a 2015 NFC Divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, Janis would catch seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Janis would make two spectacular grabs, first catching an Aaron Rodgers deep pass on 4th and 20 on the final drive to keep the game alive for the Packers, and then topping that by catching a Rodgers 41-yard Hail Mary pass for a touchdown as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Following this outstanding game, Janis would return to obscurity, ending the following season with just 93 total receiving yards to go with a single touchdown.
Janis would be a Packer until 2017, and following a stint on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in 2018, his time in the NFL came to an end. His career stat line reads: 345 receiving yards and three touchdowns, making his performance against the Cardinals in 2015 a definite one-game wonder.
#4- Jonas Gray, RB, New England Patriots
After bouncing around the practice squads of the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted in the 2012 draft, Jonas Gray was picked up by the New England Patriots and found himself as the Pats' starting running back for the November clash against the Indianapolis Colts in 2014.
Gray, who had been a bit-part player for Bill Belichick up to this point, amassing 131 yards in three games, got a massive 37 carries against the Colts and went for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-20 victory for the Patriots.
With this breakout game, Gray became the first NFL player since 1921 to score four touchdowns in one game, having never scored one previously, and his 24 total points scored matched Marshawn Lynch for the highest total in the 2014 season.
Following this, Gray was touted for a breakout, but the very next week, he got zero carries for the Patriots. He would, however, get a Super Bowl ring following the Patriots' victory in Super Bowl XLIV against the Seattle Seahawks.
After the season, Gray was released and rejoined the Miami Dolphins, then the Jacksonville Jaguars, failing to make any sort of impact at either.
His career stat line reads as 588 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, 80% of which came in that game against the Colts.
Best NFL One-Game Wonders Ever
#3 - Jerome Harrison, RB, Cleveland Browns
Jerome Harrison only had 1,681 yards in a career that spanned seven seasons, but that didn't stop him from breaking Jim Brown's Cleveland Browns rushing record against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009.
Harrison's extraordinary performance, where he went for 286 yards and three touchdowns, put him third all-time for single game rushing yards, behind greats Adrian Peterson and Jamal Lewis.
Following this performance, Harrison would be named Browns starter for the 2010 season, but was swifty traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and quickly faded away into obscurity before retiring in 2011.
Despite fading away, Harrison will be remembered by many Cleveland Browns fans as the man who broke Hall of Famer Jim Brown's franchise rushing record.
#2 - Matt Flynn, QB, Green Bay Packers
Matt Flynn has only passed for 17 touchdowns across his seven-year NFL career, but six of those came in one game against the Detroit Lions in 2012.
Flynn was the backup to Aaron Rodgers, but got the start as Rodgers was being rested, and Flynn made the most of his opportunity. He passed for 480 yards and six touchdowns in the 45-41 victory, and doing so set the Packers franchise record for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a single game. Yes, Matt Flynn holds the record for Green Bay Packers passing yards and touchdowns in a single game, although both records have now been matched by Aaron Rodgers.
After this performance, Flynn signed with the Seattle Seahawks just two months later, but was beaten out by rookie Russell Wilson in training camp. He, then, became a league journeyman, playing for the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers for a second time, New England Patriots, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints.
He would only start seven career games, but no one will forget his performance on New Year's Day in 2012 against the division rival Detroit Lions.
#1 - Chris Matthews, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Last but not least, we have Chris Matthews, who saved his one-game wonder performance for the biggest stage of all, the Super Bowl.
Matthews went undrated in the 2011 draft, and after being picked up and then released by the Cleveland Browns, he spent time in both the AFL and CFL. Matthews would receive a call for a tryout with the Seattle Seahawks while he was working as a security guard and signed a reserve/future contract for the 2014 season.
Matthews' one-game wonder performance came at the conclusion of that 2014 season in Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots. He caught his first NFL pass, a 44-yard reception to set up a Seahawks touchdown, and he also scored a touchdown on an 11-yard pass from Russell Wilson. Matthews went for 109 yards in total and received recognition for Super Bowl MVP, which eventually went to Tom Brady.
Matthews' career would peak at this moment, as he joined the Baltimore Ravens, but only caught one more touchdown in the NFL before, once again, spending time in the CFL.
Matthews' Super Bowl performance will go down as one of the biggest one-game wonders in NFL history.
