Even Tom Brady doesn’t think Myles Jack was down.
Arguably the most heartbreaking play in Jaguars history occurred in the 2017-18 AFC Championship Game. Jacksonville held a 10-point lead on the road in New England with 13 minutes and 53 seconds between the franchise and its first-ever Super Bowl appearance.
About 10 seconds later, the legend of “Myles Jack wasn’t down” was born.
Brady, then the Patriots’ quarterback and a five-time league championship winner, and the New England offense ran a double-screen-pass trick play, getting the ball to receiver Danny Amendola and then running back Dion Lewis on opposite sides of the backfield before advancing.
With blockers and an open field ahead, Lewis scampered for about 20 yards before Jack, Jacksonville’s starting middle linebacker, caught up in pursuit from the other side of the gridiron and successfully stripped the ball away from its carrier.
But as Jack rolled off the ground and up to gain yardage — with more space in front of him than Lewis had, perhaps enough to score a touchdown and create a three-possession lead — the referees blew their whistle, ruling him down by Lewis’ contact.
Jack had not appeared to take possession of the football until after Lewis’ hand slipped off Jack’s body.
The ball was placed at the Jacksonville 33-yard-line, the Jaguars went three-and-out offensively, and the Patriots scored two unanswered touchdowns in the final 12:03 of play, punching their ticket to Super Bowl LII.
Brady, who has since retired after winning another two championships (including one with Tampa Bay), joined legendary Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor and co-hosts, Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder, on The Pivot podcast Tuesday to discuss this exact play, among other topics.
Like most Jacksonville fans, Brady believes the Jaguars were beaten by the refs in that moment.
“2017, AFC Championship game,” Taylor set the scene. “Jags fans will probably love this, I’ll take the opportunity: Myles Jack, was he down?”
“Oh, nah. I don’t think he was down,” Brady responded. “Oh God, I don’t think we were catching him, either. I ran away, I sure as hell wasn’t going to tackle him.”
New England lost to Philadelphia, led by current Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, in the big game that year. Jacksonville also signed the Eagles’ starting quarterback from that game, Nick Foles, the following offseason. He spent one year with the club.
Do you believe Jack was prematurely called down, likely resulting in Jacksonville missing the Super Bowl? Or was the play called accurately? Let us know your thoughts via social media at JaguarsWire on Facebook and @TheJaguarsWire on X (formerly known as Twitter).