‘That Was Nasty’: Patrick Mahomes Shouts Out Jaguars' Nathan Rourke

Nathan Rourke earned some deserved praise from the NFL's best quarterback for his stellar touchdown vs. Dallas.

Nathan Rourke's first touchdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars wasn't like many others you will see with the preseason. In fact, it was enough to catch the eye of the best quarterback in the NFL. 

Rourke sent social media into a frenzy on Saturday after making one of the most impressive plays -- preseason or not -- from a quarterback in recent memory. Rourke broke tackles from dour different Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen before delivering a 21-yard touchdown strike to Qadree Ollison while being brought to the ground. 

The play was so stellar that it even drew praise from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who took to social media to deliver his shoutout. 

That was nasty!!! 💪🏽💪🏽 https://t.co/rVFePs6rW8

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) August 13, 2023

“It was pretty incredible. Toughness, poise in the pocket to be able to make a play like that, and have a couple of guys on him, to make that throw for the touchdown," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game. 

"I haven’t seen too many plays like that, even in a preseason game. Hats off to him. He did a nice job leading that group in the second half and was able to put us in the end zone, and then he had a touchdown run, too, so I thought he had a real good second half.”

Rourke was drafted by the CFL’s BC Lions in 2020 and played with the Lions from 2021-22. He appeared in 22 games (11 starts) from 2021-22 and completed 300-of-395 passes for 4,035 yards and 28 TDs. Rourke completed 78.7 of his passes in 2022, setting a new CFL record and earned the CFL’s award for Most Outstanding Canadian.

Rourke played at Ohio University from 2017-19 and threw for 7,457 yards and 60 TDs in three seasons, leading the Bobcats to three consecutive bowl victories. 

“It is just a preseason game, but it’s fun to be out there. You get to show them what you got, that you can’t really do with the plays in practice. It’s a good stepping off point that we will continue to build on," Rourke said.