In normal times, the role Johnson played would likely be filled by starter Chuba Hubbard.
He didn’t play Saturday night, not after suffering a shocked knee during Thursday’s joint practice when he was shot by Jets safety Chuck Clark. Hubbard said he was fine and was even able to return to practice after a few moments of holding his breath.
“God blessed me and watched over me,” he said.
From his point of view, it was therefore encouraging to see Johnson perform as they had hoped he would.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s how you want to finish,” Hubbard said. “Coach preaches finish, finish, finish, and I was glad we finally did that and got into the box, especially running with the ball.”
Hubbard may have underestimated it. His best friend Tommy Tremble, who spends more time with him after practice catching passes than anyone else, knows exactly how Hubbard would react in a similar situation.
“Oh my God, he would love that 100 percent,” Tremble said. “I think we really want to make sure we have the mindset to go for it no matter what, and when you see how bad these guys wanted to get in the end zone after such a long game, I respect that, man. I respect that the hell out of it. That’s the culture we’re trying to build here.”
“Don’t give up, don’t give up. There’s no point. With two minutes left in the game, we’re about 40 yards out. That doesn’t mean we’re just running to kill time. No, we’re running to win the game, try to score a touchdown and do everything we can. I think that’s what they tried to do today, and I think it’s great.”
Tremble said that was Canales’ message both in the locker room and in real time on the sidelines.
“Just finish it,” he said, echoing his coach’s words. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, hit something, if you don’t know how to hit something, finish it anyway. We want you guys to progress. That’s how we want to be as a team.”
