Since this is describing a videogame, I guess it would be possible, but I don’t think he really meant the defenders literally exploded:
Probably my favorite Nintendo game ever was Tecmo Bowl, and nothing beat running that Bo Jackson play with Oakland where Bo literally blew up all the defenders and ran for a touchdown every time. (Unless your friend had guessed that play, of course.)
I hunted down some video of Bo Jackson in Techmo Bowl, and I don’t see anyone exploding:
