On Thursday night in Foxboro, Mass., Eric Ebron accomplished a feat he had not in six years.
The former UNC tight end, now an Indianapolis Colt in his fifth NFL season, caught two touchdown passes and hauled in 105 yards against the New England Patriots in a 38-24 loss. It was the first time Ebron has caught two touchdown passes since Sept. 15, 2012 in a game against Louisville.
Ebron excelled as a Tar Heel from 2011-2013, nearly eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards as a junior. His efforts were noticed by pro scouts, and he was picked No. 10 overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2013 NFL Draft, becoming the first and only UNC player drafted in the first round until Mitch Trubisky in 2017.
However, the potential he showed at UNC rarely showed itself at the pro level — until Thursday night.
On that day six years ago against the No. 19 Cardinals, the then-sophomore managed five receptions as UNC narrowly fell 39-34. The Tar Heels were down 36-7 in the third quarter when Ebron caught his first of two touchdown passes on a 2-yard pass from quarterback Bryn Renner.
With 8:22 left on the game clock in the fourth quarter, Ebron caught his second touchdown, this time on a 5-yard pass from Renner to bring the Cardinal lead down to just 11 points in the eventual loss.
On Thursday, the 6-foot-4 brick wall of a man waited until the third quarter to strike this time, too. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck lined up in the shotgun from the Patriots’ 14-yard line with Ebron lined up in the left slot. The fifth-year pro exploded off the line of scrimmage, running a straight shot to the end zone. As Luck checked his options, Ebron suddenly cut hard left toward the outside and turned to receive the lofted pass, narrowly keeping both feet in bounds for the score.
Ebron flipped the ball to the ground and threw his hand up as if to silence the crowd, although the Colts still trailed, 24-10.
Just like in 2012, his second touchdown did not come until the fourth quarter, this time after the two-minute warning and with his team trailing by 21 points. Ebron hauled in a 1-yard pass with 1:11 remaining on the clock, putting a stamp on the best game of his professional career.
