I know that this is a Patriots blog, and as a Patriots blog we should keep our focus on the Patriots rather than the team they just played, but I have always been a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due. And in this particular case, Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins deserves a whole heap of credit.
Yes, he ran a great route. Yes, his juke to the inside followed by the outside post was textbook, and knotted the game up at seven. And yes, he was one of a few bright spots for Cleveland yesterday in the wake of a 33-13 beatdown. But more than all of that combined, Hawkins delivered an end zone celebration for the ages after that catch:
This is how the NFL wants players to react after scoring a TD pic.twitter.com/CBrM1Dffxo
— Justin (@TheJustinSports) October 9, 2016
Scored, and immediately turned into a robot. Put the ball down and just walked away with zero emotion, fanfare, or enjoyment of any kind. Not only was it absolutely hysterical, what a great way to stick it to the NFL as it continues to fall farther and farther out of touch with its players, fans, and reality.
Since the Browns may never see the end zone again, I wholeheartedly encourage every single player who scores a touchdown in 2016 to adopt this end zone celebration. If they want robots out there, I say give them robots. Just make sure more than one person doesn't do it at a time, otherwise they'll draw an Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty that will set the kicking unit back 15 yards and increase the probability of one of those kick returns the NFL is trying to eliminate.
Kudos to Andrew Hawkins. Well played, good sir.