The Untold Truth Of Demaryius Thomas

The entire play took 10 seconds. From the snap, which occurred on January 8, 2012, during the very onset of overtime of the AFC Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium, to its euphoric conclusion took a count of t. It was something that both Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas would never forget. 

Per The Denver Post, it unfolded like this: Tebow took a snap from the shotgun position, looked to the middle, and saw Thomas wide open. He threw a dart to the wide receiver, who then began streaking toward the end zone. The crowd got louder as he got closer, leaving Pittsburgh players in the dust. Only Ike Taylor stood a chance to tackle him, and Thomas gave him a stiff arm as he scored. The noise level rivaled even the loudest thunderstorm as the Broncos and their fans began exuberantly exulting, and the Steelers could only stare dejectedly on the sideline as they saw their season come to an unceremonious end. The game was over, and Denver was advancing to the next round. 

People were reminiscing about that play when they heard about Thomas dying far too young on December 9, 2021, at the age of 33, via ESPN. But he was far more than just that one frozen moment in time — he was a Super Bowl winner, a good teammate, and a family man. 

Demaryius Thomas, who grew up in Dublin, Georgia, played college football at Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference from 2007 to 2009. The speedy wide receiver finished fourth all time in receiving yards with 2,339 career yards, trailing Calvin Johnson by nearly 600 yards. He would have finished higher had he not made an important career decision.  

Thomas made college football his playground. He basically torched the entire ACC in 2009, catching 46 passes for 1,154 yards, which led the entire conference, via Sports Reference. Eight of those catches wound up being touchdowns. How dangerous was he on the field? He averaged 25.1 yards after making a catch. College defensive coordinators likely had nightmares trying to think of ways to contain him. 

How good was Thomas? He decided to skip his senior year of college at Georgia Tech and enter the NFL Draft, where his next chapter in football would begin. 

It was not an easy life for Demaryius Thomas at first. Both his mother and grandmother were sent to prison when he was young, according to The U.S. Sun. They were reportedly running a Georgia drug ring. It may have been very difficult for him growing up without those two family members, but he never stopped thinking about them as he made his way through high school, college, and the NFL. Finally, he saw an opportunity to use his voice to help them gain freedom. He started a petition that went all the way to the White House and President Barack Obama pardoned both of them in 2015.

Then trouble struck in '19. Thomas had an accident where his car overturned several times when he was going 70 miles an hour. There were two passengers in the car, and they received minor injuries. Thomas pleaded guilty to reckless driving and got a year's probation as a result, per Bleacher Report. But the crash may have had tragic repercussions down the road for him.