Kimberley A. Martin viral ESPN NFL Browns Bears Screen grab: NFL on Fox
ESPNNFLBy Ben Axelrod on

If you want to know how chaotic the ending of the Cleveland Browns’ 20-17 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday was, all you had to do was look at Kimberley A. Martin’s face.

After Dustin Hopkins’ 34-yard field goal secured a three-point lead for the Browns late in the fourth quarter, the Bears took over at their own 25-yard line with 32 seconds remaining in the game and no timeouts. Chicago quarterback Justin Fields proceeded to find wide receiver Tyler Scott for a 30-yard gain before throwing a pair of incomplete passes, setting up one final play from Cleveland’s 45-yard line with five seconds remaining on the clock.

After being chased out of the pocket by Browns star pass rusher Myles Garrett, Fields heaved the ball into the end zone, with the pass deflected by a crowd of players and seemingly into the hands of Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney. The fourth-year wideout, however, wasn’t able to hold onto the ball, which then bounced into the arms of Cleveland safety D’Anthony Bell for the game-sealing interception as the Browns moved to 9-5 on the year.

After the clip of the nearly successful Hail Mary attempt was shared to social media, many noticed a woman standing on the sideline filming the moment with her jaw having literally dropped in shock. That woman happened to be Martin, who was in Cleveland to cover the game for ESPN and was quick to cop to the candid moment.

Many of Martin’s colleagues proceeded to playfully poke fun at the hilarious reaction shot, including ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman, who encouraged the NFL reporter to make it to her new profile picture.

Martin has yet to oblige; her profile picture remains her ESPN headshot. But the Brooklyn, New York, native did share that this isn’t the first time that she’s been unaware of one of her in-game reactions being caught on camera.

Regardless of whether or not she changes her profile picture, it’s safe bet that Martin’s viral moment will create plenty of fodder for Stephen A. Smith and the rest of the First Take crew when she joins the show later this week.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod