It ended up being a bummer of a day for the Chicago Bears, but defensive tackle Akiem Hicks joined a pretty awesome club with his performance in the contest.
Hicks, who had a perfectly respectable day on defense as he registered six tackles and a sack in the team’s loss to the New York Giants, took things to another level in the second quarter when he took a hand-off on a 4th-and-goal play and dove into the end zone for his first career rushing touchdown.
The touchdown was the first offensive touchdown of Hicks’ career, and it landed him in some elite company.
According to NFL Research, Hicks became the first Bears defender to score an offensive touchdown since Brian Urlacher scored on a 27-yard reception off a fake field goal in a 2001 game against Washington.
To make things even cooler, Hicks became the first Bears defensive player to score a rushing touchdown since William “The Refrigerator” Perry dove into the end zone in a Super Bowl XX victory over the New England Patriots.
Hicks also became the third player in NFL history to register a sack and a rushing touchdown in the same game, joining Shaun Smith and Perry.
Unfortunately for Hicks, it wasn’t enough for the Bears to win, as they fell 30-27 to the Giants and saw their record drop to 8-4.
