(Atlanta) All Quebec football fans were glued to their screens Sunday afternoon for the match between Benjamin St-Juste’s Washington Commanders and Matthew Bergeron’s Atlanta Falcons. And St-Juste knew it. This is why he played the hero by making the biggest play of his career.
The Commanders led 24-16 with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter. Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder had started to move up the field to keep his team alive. Once in the pay zone, the Falcons were in a good position to score a touchdown and potentially score a conversion to tie the game.
In a third down and seven yard situation, the pressure from Washington’s defensive linemen was too much. Ridder panicked and attempted a pass to the right of the end zone to Drake London, his most reliable receiver.
“It’s the best feeling as a defensive back,” said the Quebecer after the game. Especially since it was his first career interception, in his 27th game.
St-Juste finished the match with a smile, and the match ball, but his state of mind at the end of this game could have been completely different.
In the first quarter, he missed his coverage on tight end Kyle Pitts in the pay zone, which allowed the latter to score the first touchdown of the game. In the fourth quarter, St-Juste forced the officials to throw their handkerchief on a two-point conversion by the Falcons as number 25 interfered with London’s work.
Then, two minutes later, on a contested catch with London, the referees gave the benefit of the doubt to the Atlanta player.
“[It was] my destiny to have my first interception, because honestly, I think I intercepted the pass that was given to Drake London. I knew the ball had to come to me at some point. With the pressure, the match on the line, I delivered the goods,” St-Juste proudly underlined in his team’s locker room.
In the other locker room, in the basement of the gigantic and spectacular Mercedes-Benz stadium, Bergeron was a little more disappointed.
The offensive lineman would have preferred to win the first game involving two Quebec players since 2016, we suspect.
His team didn’t look bad, however. She registered quickly. Several players stood out, including tight ends Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith, authors of their team’s two touchdowns.
Bergeron, however, is at his best when the team deploys its ground attack. However, the harvest was quite meager against the dominant defensive front of the Commanders. Running backs Tyler Allgeier and Bijan Robinson ran 13 times each for 51 and 37 yards, respectively.
“I was really happy for him and for his interception. I know it’s big for the team, but for his career too,” he said with a jacket bearing the image of Syracuse University, his alma mater. A gift that all the football team graduates received last week.
Earlier this week, the two players exchanged text messages to arrange to meet in the center of the field to exchange jerseys after the match.
They kept their promise. They posed and exchanged a few words.
“We spoke in French! “, exclaimed Bergeron when asked what two Quebec players were saying to each other in the center of one of the most impressive fields in the NFL.
“It was super cool to talk with Matthew after the game, make the trade,” St-Juste said. I told him to keep his head high, to focus on all the details, to work on his weaknesses. But he’s a super smart kid who learns quickly. It was a beautiful moment. »
And he experienced this moment with all Quebecers. A spark flashed in his eye when the question of the effect that a clash like this between two athletes from La Belle Province could have.
Six years ago, when Bergeron dreamed of the university ranks, experiencing such a day would have been “unimaginable.”
“If you had told me that I was going to play at that level against another Quebecer and [that he was going to] make the interception to win the game, I think I would never have believed you. »
However, fairy tales sometimes surprise us by coming true in real life.
And they shared this story. And above all they gave it meaning.
Benjamin St-Juste, from Rosemère to Minnesota via Old Montreal. Matthew Bergeron, from Victoriaville to Syracuse via Thetford Mines.
Two Quebecers hugging at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta, in the NFL.
Even though they were facing each other for the very first time, St-Juste and Bergeron were still playing on the same team on Sunday afternoon.
