Houston Texans’ John Metchie scores first career touchdown

Houston Texans wide receiver John Metchie scored his first career touchdown during a game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud found the Taiwanese Canadian wide receiver in the end zone with 16 seconds left in the first half, ending the play for a 15-yard touchdown.

Even though the Texans lost to the Lions 26-23, the team’s head coach, DeMeco Ryans, still praised Metchie for the achievement, telling reporters, “I’m just really proud of just his improvement and him taking the coaching, taking the practice to the field on Sunday.”

Born to a Taiwanese mother and Nigerian father in Taiwan, Metchie and his family moved to Ghana shortly after his birth. He emigrated with his family to Canada at 6 and later moved to Maryland to attend high school. Metchie was drafted into the NFL out of Alabama in 2022.

After being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia in July 2022, he was sidelined from the field until last year, when he played in 16 regular-season games. Metchie acknowledged his cancer diagnosis on Sunday but noted that his focus right now is “on what I could do to be the best version of myself and to help the team win.”