In the second half at Sunday’s Broncos game, a rookie running back momentarily took all of the Denver crowd’s breath away. Audric Estimé caught a pass thrown by fellow rookie Bo Nix and hurdled an Atlanta Falcons defender, but the play got called back because of a penalty.

Cornerback Clark Phillips III came in low to try to tackle Estimé, who had the ball tucked in his left arm, and Estimé jumped high in the air and floated right over Phillips. Another Falcons defender then tackled him as he was returning to Earth.

See the play below:

The play got called back because of an unnecessary roughness penalty on a Broncos offensive lineman.

On Xfinity Monday Live, CBS Colorado host Romi Bean joked that he should be called “Air Estimé.” She asked him if he knew ahead of time that he was going to make his stunning leap.

“No I did not,” Estimé said. “It was kind of just like a reaction, honestly.”

“I saw (Phillips) kind of put his head down and close his eyes and that’s something I kind of did in college and I was like ‘This is my opportunity to do it,’” said Estimé, who played for Notre Dame in college.

“Have you always had hops?” Bean asked.

“I’d say so. I played basketball. I was grabbing rim in eighth grade,” he said. “I had pretty good vertical … like 30 and a half.”

Bean asked Estimé if he might flash the hurdle again in an upcoming game.

“We’ll see. I just can’t be doing it too much,” Estimé said.

Estime saw his first NFL action in Week 1 against the Seahawks, but he wound up with an ankle injury and missed several games after that while he was on IR. It’s only in recent weeks that he has started to get more work in the Broncos backfield. He had 14 carries for 53 yards against the Chiefs, and on Sunday he had 6 rushes for 16 yards plus three catches for 9 yards. And after an early fumble, he has been more cautious with the football.

“Once you change your perspective of what that ball represents, you kind of hold it differently,” he said. “Coach (Sean) Payton really told me like, this ball represents everyone’s dreams. Thinking of it, it’s like something I’ve done my whole life. And playing at the highest level is my dream, and carrying that ball my whole life is what got me there. So I just, no matter what, I just have to hold onto it.

“Ball security trumps yards, and I have to just keep improving and I believe I will.”

Estimé and the Broncos are now preparing for the Las Vegas Raiders. You can watch the game on Sunday afternoon on CBS Colorado.