Chase Claypool sets Canadian NFL record with 84-yard touchdown reception

PITTSBURGH — Chase Claypool didn’t wait long to set a Canadian NFL record.

In just his second career game with Pittsburgh, the Steelers receiver had an 84-yard touchdown reception — the longest TD from scrimmage in league history by a Canadian-born player — in Sunday’s 26-21 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit the Abbotsford, B.C., product with a rainbow down the left sideline that put the Steelers ahead 13-3 midway through the second quarter.

The 22-year-old Claypool finished the game with three receptions for a total of 88 yards. He has five receptions for 127 yards in his first two career games.

Claypool, picked in the second round of this year’s NFL draft by the Steelers, was a big-play performer in college at Notre Dame.

He was the school’s leading receiver in 2019 with 66 catches for 1,037 yards and 13 TDs, and finished with 150 career receptions for 2,159 yards and 19 touchdowns.

When the NFL tweeted about his milestone TD on Sunday, Claypool responded simply: “Ohhhhh Canadaaaa.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2020.

The Canadian Press