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NFL Player Makes Embarrassing Mistake That Costs Him a Touchdown During Season Opener
Denver Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan (59) drops the ball before he crosses the goal line for a fumble against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013, in Denver. Credit: AP

NFL Player Makes Embarrassing Mistake That Costs Him a Touchdown During Season Opener

"It was a dumb play in retrospect."

Nobody had ever scored 49 points on the Ravens in their 18-year history. But that's exactly what the Broncos did during Thursday night's NFL opener in Denver. But except for an embarrassing mistake by second-year linebacker Danny Trevathan, it might have been worse.

Trevathan, the Bronco's starting weakside linebacker, picked off a Joe Flacco pass during the early part of the fourth quarter. But just before he crossed the goal line, he started celebrating early, dropping the ball and starting some sort of zombie-esqe chicken walk. In other words, he fumbled the football just before crossing the goal line on what would have been a 30-yard TD interception return.

The ball eventually squeaked out of the back of the endzone, was ruled a touchback, and the Ravens took over at the 20-yard line -- meaning they only lost nine yards on the play. They would march 80 yards down the field to make the score 42-24.

Denver Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan (59) drops the ball before he crosses the goal line for a fumble against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013, in Denver. Credit: AP

Here's how it looked on video:

Adding insult to injury, literally, fellow linebacker Wesley Woodyard limped off the field after he was hurt when a Ravens player tried to jump on the ball.

"It was a dumb play in retrospect," Trevathan said after the game. "It's not going to happen again. I was just so in the moment, it was kind of selfish of me. I'm growing from it and I'm not going to let nobody stop me from getting better."

The Broncos went on to win 49-27.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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