Brandon Marshall Returns To Indy Nearly 6 Years After Record-Setting Game
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Brandon Marshall remembers having a feeling that he was about to do something that had never been done in the NFL.
The New York Jets wide receiver was with the Denver Broncos in 2009 when he was preparing for a mid-December game against the Colts in Indianapolis.
"I was so locked in and focused," Marshall recalled Thursday. "I actually went up to a reporter before the game and said, 'This is going to be the biggest game I've ever played.'"
He was right. And then some.
Marshall set an NFL record by catching 21 passes from Kyle Orton that day, going for 200 yards and two touchdowns in Denver's 28-16 loss. The man nicknamed "Baby T.O." back then broke Terrell Owens' league mark by one reception.
"I've never been that focused before," the five-time Pro Bowler said. "I didn't even see or feel anything."
Marshall will play in Indianapolis for the first time since that record-blasting performance when the Jets (1-0) take on the Colts (0-1) on Monday night.
He had already made a Pro Bowl appearance and had an 18-catch game, but that game firmly established Marshall as one of the elite playmaking receivers in the league. The Pro Football Hall of Fame celebrated the accomplishment by displaying his game-worn jersey — something Marshall wants back from the folks in Canton, Ohio.
"I'm being serious," Marshall said. "I went to Canton to visit my jersey and it was in the basement. They had T.O.'s 18 catches up and they took mine down. They told me it was supposedly coming off of a road show, so I would like to have my jersey back."
He might have been half-kidding, but Marshall recalls being nothing but serious during his last visit to Indianapolis. Fellow Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley, who died in 2010 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was a rookie that season and walked over to Marshall on the sideline at one point.
"He was just looking at me, and I said, 'What are you doing?'" Marshall said. "He was like, 'Nothing, nothing.'"
Marshall then pressed McKinley to tell him what was on his mind.
"He said, 'Bro, you have 18 catches right now,'" Marshall said. "I looked at him and slapped him and said, 'You should have told me that a long time ago!' That was the first time I knew I had a lot of catches."
Marshall has made a career of finding a way to get the ball in his hands. He had a streak of seven straight seasons of 1,000 or more yards receiving snapped last season, due in large part to injuries.
Now in New York after an offseason trade from Chicago, Marshall feels healthy and rejuvenated. It certainly showed in the season-opening win over Cleveland last Sunday, when he had six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown — and ripped an interception out of Tashaun Gipson's hands for a fumble recovery that changed the momentum of the game.
"Brandon plays everything," coach Todd Bowles said. "He plays offense, he plays defense, he plays aggressive."
The Jets are hoping for more of the same against a Colts team that could match up star cornerback Vontae Davis against Marshall.
"No, I'm washed up and old," the 31-year-old Marshall joked. "No one should follow me now."
Opponents know better, of course. But with Marshall on one side and Eric Decker on the other, teams will have to pick their poison during games, with each receiver likely to get his share of opportunities to make plays in Chan Gailey's offense.
When lightheartedly asked if he would pick him or Decker for his fantasy football team, Marshall wouldn't commit either way.
"It depends on the week," he said, smiling. "This week is going to be a big week for one of us."
If Davis happens to stick on him most of the game, Marshall knows what to expect. The two went up against each other in practice every day when they were teammates in Miami for two years.
Marshall is still as confident as he was back in his younger days, like that game against the Colts in 2009. He has no plans, however, to give Davis a call to warn him about any vibes he might be feeling entering Monday night's game.
"Oh, no," he said with a big grin. "Don't want to mess with the cage. Vontae is tough."
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
