Rome Odunze tells how his incredible first catch developed

Rome Odunze shares how his incredible first catch unfolded. Originally published on NBC Sports Chicago

CHICAGO — There are “Welcome to the NFL” moments and then there are “Welcome to the NFL” moments. Rome Odunze's moment was one of the craziest moments you'll ever witness, and his first catch as a Chicago Bear is one he'll never forget.

“I make a great play, get pressured right away and lose the football,” Odunze said. “That's something I can tell my grandkids about one day.”

The play itself was wilder than Odunze described. Caleb Williams targeted DJ Moore on a dig route but threw it too far. The pass was thrown high in the air by Titans safety Quandre Diggs and looked to be an easy interception, but Odunze tracked the ball, leaping high in the air and using his frame to snatch the ball long before anyone else. As Odunze said, however, the Titans were ready when he came back down to earth. Fellow Titans safety Amani Hooker shoved Odunze to the ground with all his strength, knocking the ball out of play in the process. Luckily for the Bears, left guard Teven Jenkins was after him and smothered the ball to keep it.

The entire sequence lasted about five seconds.

“It was crazy,” Odunze said. “I saw the ball in the air and tried to intercept it. When I came down, I felt like someone was going to hit me.”

That play was the only time Odunze touched the ball all afternoon. He was targeted four times, but the crazy pop-up resulted in his only catch. He was credited with 11 yards.

Although it was a bang and Odunze did a good job of preventing the ball from being intercepted, he himself received immediate feedback.

“I definitely need to secure that. I just wanted to make sure it didn't get into the hands of the defenders, honestly that was my top priority, but I need to put that away. Luckily Teven rushed to get the ball.”

It was a big moment in the game. The Bears maintained possession in the red zone and eventually scored their first points of the game with a field goal. However, Odunze and the rest of the Bears offense want more. The team struggled to move the ball consistently and failed to score any offensive touchdowns.

After the game, Odunze focused on the positives, not the negatives. The Bears won, he made a crazy catch early in his career, and he enjoyed it.

“It was a blast. Anytime I'm out there playing soccer, especially with a team like this, especially with brothers like these, that's all I could ask for.”

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