Cardinals’ Hjalte Froholdt breaks down viral block that sent a Cowboy to the ground twice

TEMPE — It is not often that a center goes viral on social media, but Hjalte Froholdt of the Arizona Cardinals bucked that trend by blocking Dallas Cowboys safety Caleb Downs into the turf twice on the same run.

Froholdt was questionable coming into the game with a knee issue that popped up on Thursday, but you would never have guessed that when he was making pancake blocks 20 yards past the line of scrimmage during the fourth quarter of a 33-30 comeback win.

“I mean, you see the opportunity and just got to get after it,” Froholdt said on Monday.

Blocker-by-blocker, the center broke down the pin-and-pull play the day after, which resulted in a 52-yard rush from Tyler Allgeier that set up a touchdown.

“Because of the action in our backfield, some of the (linebackers) kind of stayed in the box,” Froholdt said. “(Right tackle Elijah Wilkinson) had an easy cutoff on the linebacker because he kind of stood on his feet, and I think it was (Teagan Quitoriano) who went on the frontside backer. And then (Elijah Higgins), he did a really good job on the Sam (linebacker), and then as me and (left guard Isaac Seumalo) kind of pulled around, we had nobody really to block, so Isaac just went up on the corner, and then I’m like I have zero people, so I’m just the extra guy. Then it was the safety there, Downs.

“I could play it safe and just play inside-out, but I was like, let me just run as fast as I can. I’m pretty sure TA is right behind me, and then the way that Downs kind of played down and he started moving outside, I knew that TA was right behind me. I just kind of shot my hands at him and then ended up getting him down, and he bounced right back up and hit him again.”

Froholdt said he hit 15.3 mph in the open field, which the 310-pound lineman felt was not as fast as he thought he was moving in real time.

Former Cardinals center and radio color commentator A.Q. Shipley called it the block of the year, saying Froholdt dribbled Downs “like a basketball.”

🚨MOVE THE PILE🚨

THIS IS THE BLOCK OF THE YEAR SO FAR#nfl | #arizona | #cardinals | #RiseUpRedSea | #football @AZCardinals @HFroholdt pic.twitter.com/8uDIKTlkbe

— AQ Shipley (@aqshipley) November 2, 2026

Some fans online compared Froholdt to the Juggernaut of Marvel lore, while others contributed to discourse about whether or not this should have been called a block in the back penalty.

To that last point, here are the NFL’s exact rules:

A block in the back is a block that is delivered from behind an opponent above his waist. It is not a block in the back:

– If the opponent turns away from the blocker when contact is imminent (most applicable to this particular play)

– If both of the blocker’s hands are on the opponent’s side

Instead, it didn’t draw a flag and stood as an impactful moment among many that led to a stunner of a road victory for the Cardinals.

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