Jakob Johnson makes history with 1-yard TD catch

German born fullback becomes first player from NFL’s International Pathway Program to score a touchdown

Jakob Johnson made a little bit of history Sunday night.

When the New England Patriots fullback caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton with 14:14 left in their 35-30 loss to Seattle, he became the first player from the International Pathway Program to score in the NFL.

The touchdown also made him the second German-born player to score a touchdown. The first was Markus Kuhn, who returned a fumble for a touchdown for the New York Giants in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans in the 2014 season.

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"I did not know that. That’s awesome," Johnson said. "I’m sure later on that’ll sink in. I have to watch the film and figure this game out first."

Johnson played 17 snaps on offense, four fewer than he had in Week 1. Considering the Patriots went heavy on the pass against the Seahawks, Johnson even seeing that much time shows the trust the coaching staff is starting to have on him.

The touchdown pass –Newton’s first as a Patriot where he feigned run before stopping and flipping to a wide-open Johnson – only confirms as much.

"I feel a lot more confident when we practice those situations," Johnson said. "I look forward to coming up in the game and make these plays, but it’s kind of hard to see that when you come so close to beating such a good team and you come up short."

Johnson was also on the field for the game’s final play, but got blown up in the backfield by Seattle safety Lano Hill, who successfully sold out trying to stop Newton’s run.

When asked what happened on the play, Johnson kept his answer simple.

"Called the play," he said. "Came up short."

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