Miami Dolphins wide receiver Leonte Carroo runs away from 49ers cornerback Jimmie Ward on his way to scoring the winning touchdown at Hard Rock Stadium (Bill Ingram / The Palm Beach Post)
MIAMI GARDENS — When Miami Dolphins rookie wide receiver Leonte Carroo scored the first touchdown of his NFL career on Sunday afternoon, he thought it didn’t count.
Carroo didn’t immediately see anyone running toward him to celebrate a touchdown and so he assumed there must have been a penalty on the play.
No penalty. And time to celebrate a 31-14 lead which preceded a 31-24 victory undecided until the final play.
“Then Kenny (Stills) was the first person to greet me in the end zone and he gave me a hug, and I was just very excited,” Carroo said. “Of course, it’s everybody’s dream who wants to go to the NFL.”
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill said Carroo was prepared.
“He’s been there, kind of our fourth, fifth guy all year, and for him to come in, in a big situation, in the fourth quarter and have a big run after catch – a physical run – after he had the ball in his hands for a touchdown. (I’m) really proud of him,” Tannehill said.
Carroo has made a positive impact on Miami’s special teams and on Sunday he made a key play on offense.
“That just goes to show you never know what can happen in this league,” he said. “You have to continue to go out there and make plays and like I said just have that next man mentality, just go out there and finish. We did a great job, credit to the offense, defense, and special teams. We all worked off each other and played hard.”
