Washington Redskins quarterback Josh Johnson made his first start since 2011 on Sunday, and he made the most of it.
The journeyman signal-caller earned his first career NFL win in the team's 16-13 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Johnson didn't have the greatest of games -- he completed 16 of 25 passes for a modest 151 yards and a touchdown -- but it was enough for him to reflect on the long road his career has taken.
"I've always had belief in myself that I can do things like this, but, I've never been one to talk about it because talking does nothing," Johnson said after the game. "... Just to have it go our way and be able to just have everything that has been building up in me for years and finally let it out, it was a relief. Honestly, it was. It was just a relief."
For a guy who's been part of 13 NFL teams and appeared in 32 games since 2009, Johnson didn't think he'd ever guide a team to victory. When Dustin Hopkins kicked the winning field goal Sunday, Johnson dropped to his knees in celebration.
"I know every opportunity I get could be my last one," Johnson said. "That's just the reality of my situation. I just want to leave it all out on the field. I owe this game that much because I love it that much. I mean, I've put in this work; I've stayed around this game for this long. For me to go out there and not leave it all out on the field, I would be disrespecting it. So, at the end of the day, if I have an opportunity where I know I can make a play, I'm going to go do that. I mean, we ended up pulling out the victory, so it worked out for us."
The big question is whether Johnson can win again. With the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles standing in the Redskins' way of a surprise NFC playoff berth, Johnson's likely going to have to lead the Redskins to multiple wins to give Washington a postseason chance in its post-Alex Smith world.
As surprising as it might be to see Josh Johnson as an NFL game-winning quarterback in 2018, at least one of his teammates isn't surprised.
"He has an aura, a presence about him," running back Chris Thompson said, per Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Even in the meeting rooms, he just came in and took things over.
"It's a lot like Alex (Smith), it's not his words, it's the feeling you get when you walk by him and talk to him."
