A little over a month ago, Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson appeared on Richard Sherman's podcast, giving viewers an inside look at his interception last season against the Vikings.
The two broke down Johnson's film against the Vikings during Week 12 of the 2023 regular season. When Johnson broke down the play for Sherman, the latter couldn't contain his reaction to the level of difficulty of Johnson's play.
It made for great content. But opponents were watching. Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud jokingly let Johnson know he shouldn't be giving up his secrets that easily.
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"Stop telling your secrets on Richard Sherman's podcast, dude," Stroud said to Johnson during the game while wearing a microphone. "The palms look. You ain't slick, brother. You ain't getting me. You ain't getting me! You played that well though."
MORE: Richard Sherman flabbergasted by Jaylon Johnson's breakdown of his Vikings' interception
Stroud, despite what his predraft tests might tell you, is a cerebral quarterback. He's studious and well-prepared for whatever his opponents hand him. His knowledge of Johnson's appearance on Sherman's podcast should tell you enough about how much Stroud studies the game.
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Here's how Johnson broke down his thinking behind the play.
"I've seen the formation, so in my head, I'm like 'I know I'm to the field and he [the quarterback] sees me off," Johnson said. "He's probably gonna try to bang this five-yard in. But I already knew it was a five-yard in with a seven (yard out) behind it. So I'm kinda seeing it and in my head, I'm like 'Nah, I'm gonna make a play.' I don't like just catching that little pass and tackling it.
"I'm like 'If he throws this short route, I'm gonna drive it.' So sure enough, he caught it, boom, he looked and I took off. I saw him pump (fake) so I'm like 'Damn, I gotta get out of there and help and get back.' I stuck my foot in the ground got under and he threw it up. I'm like 'Oh, I got him!' And I took him. Everybody (was) like seeing it and was like 'Oh yeah, Cover 2's great, high-low.'
"I'm like, 'Nah, I was being greedy.' I was tryna make a play."
.@NBAxJay1 had @RSherman_25 in STITCHES breaking down his interception against the Vikings last season 🤣 pic.twitter.com/TfuG08Tc9y
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) August 14, 2024
Palms, in essence, is a variation of Cover 2 defense that asks the cornerback to play man-to-man coverage starting with zone defense. If a wide receiver enters his zone, the cornerback must attach himself to the receiver and play man-to-man.
In this scenario, Johnson is clouding the outside receiver, who enters his zone and runs an inside route. Johnson is supposed to follow the route as his designated assignment, but decided to bail, knowing quarterback Joshua Dobbs was planning to throw the ball to the out route open towards the sideline.
Basically, Johnson left his assignment to make a play, demonstrating his elite ability to read the field and make an off-script play using his athleticism in milliseconds. It's incredible stuff.
But knowing that, Stroud used the information to the best of his ability to read Johnson as a defender. Seemingly, it worked. Stroud completed 23-of-36 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown, while throwing zero interceptions against the Bears last week; he led the Texans to a win at home, 19-13.