Witherspoon Mossed, Agholor Provides Difference for Patriots

PITTSBURGH — Ahkello Witherspoon and Nelson Agholor had a battle on Sunday, but that battle was highlighted by Agholor’s astonishing touchdown catch at the end of the first half. Agholor jumped over Witherspoon and mossed him en route to the touchdown.

Nelson Agholor just Moss'd Ahkello Witherspoon for a 44-yard TD pic.twitter.com/rCIkyqtv9U

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 18, 2022

The play itself was a key moment in a game between two lethargic offenses. Without it, the Patriots undoubtedly do win the game, and the Steelers are likely still somewhat in the driver’s seat. Regardless, Witherspoon understands he had to play that ball differently.

“I just went to cradle the ball instead of high pointing it,” Witherspoon said. “He’s a smaller receiver, so I wasn’t really worried about him elevating like that.”

Mike Tomlin, as a former wide receiver and defensive backs coach, understands how to play every position intricately at every turn. He was disappointed in the way Witherspoon played the football, and acknowledged that there has to be a better fight from him at the catch point moving forward.

“Yeah, play the ball above eye level,” Tomlin said. “He’s a big guy. Got to play the ball above eye level.”

Agholor himself knew it would be a tough play right out of the break. However, he was present at that moment and went up to make a phenomenal catch. That might be the play of his career at this point. Even with Agholor being a smaller player, however, plays like the one he made are just as much about the mindset as they are about his physical capabilities.

“I’ll just that I’ve been on both sides of those,” Agholor said. “You know, I’ve gone up for those and had ones where I haven’t finished those. It’s all about focus and being present in the moment when the ball is in the air. You know, obviously, we’re both aggressive, but if you’re focused on the catch, you can make any catch. His job isn’t to catch it, it’s to defend it. My job is to catch it, so I had to have more focus than him.”

It was a great play by Agholor, but Tomlin and Witherspoon are correct in that he has to play that ball much better. Either way, moving forward, Witherspoon has still had a fine start to the season. But he needs to have a bounce-back game against the Browns to get the feeling of that catch out of his head for the foreseeable future.