Ja'Lynn Polk gave the ball from his first NFL touchdown to his dad for his birthday
FOXBORO -- Ja'Lynn Polk would have preferred that his first career touchdown catch in the NFL came in a Patriots win, but the New England rookie still made the most of the milestone on Sunday. While Polk ended up with the football from that touchdown grab, it's not his anymore.
With Sunday being New England's home opener, Polk's father, Leonard, was in attendance to see his son play. After the game, which the Patriots lost 23-20 to the Seahawks in overtime, Polk had a surprise for his Pop.
Polk gave his father his touchdown ball as a birthday present, and shared the moment on his Instagram story on Sunday evening.
"TD Ball for Pops B-Day," Polk posted.
Polk hauled in a dart of a throw from Jacoby Brissett midway through the first quarter on Sunday to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead at the time. As Polk celebrated in the end zone, fellow receiver K.J. Osborn picked up the ball and pretended to wrap it before "gifting" it back to Polk.
"It was pretty cool. Great experience with my teammates," Polk said after the game. "We didn't come out with the win, so I feel like that was more important than my touchdown."
Polk caught just one more pass after his touchdown snag, and finished with 12 receiving yards in Week 2. Through two games, the second-round pick has caught three of the four passes to go his way for 18 yards. Polk's seven-yard touchdown catch is the longest reception of his career so far.
Osborn was the only other Patriots receiver to catch a pass on Sunday, with a seven-yard reception in overtime. The Patriots clearly need to get their receivers more involved in the offense, but that has proven difficult with the offensive line struggling to protect Brissett in passing situations.
"I feel like the chemistry is going to come," Polk said Sunday. 'We have to keep pushing and keep going at it every day."
We'll get you ready for Thursday night's Patriots-Jets clash starting at 7 p.m. with Patriots GameDay on TV38! After the game, tune in to Patriots 5th Quarter on WBZ-TV/TV38 for full reaction and analysis.