Remember the Jags cheating their way to a win last year in Mike Tomlin’s first playoff game as Steelers head coach? Jacksonville had the ball at their 49-yard line, with one timeout and 2:38 left on the clock. Three plays later, after a solid Steelers’ defensive stand, the Jags were in a fourth-and-two situation.
Lining up in the shotgun formation, Jacksonville appeared ready to pass for the first down. But Jags quarterback David Garrard, after taking two steps back, takes off running. Garrard sprints pass the line of scrimmage, rushes pass the first down maker and one elusive move later, carries the ball all the way to Steelers 11-yard line before getting tackled. It’s a 32-yard run!
After a few safe hand-offs, Jacksonville’s kicker, Josh Scobee, boots a 25-yard field goal to give his team the lead. In the spring of 2008, NFL’s head of officiating, Mike Pereira, admitted that on Garrard’s fourth down run his officials missed a holding penalty against Jacksonville’s offensive line.
And so it goes. Now the Jags sit at home, and the Steelers are in the playoffs as the two-seed. Maybe in the end, justice will prevail.
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January 3, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Horrible missed call. If players need to be at their best during the playoffs, so do refs and umpires. Im not saying that in 4, you could afford to be lax, but the playoffs bring an added pressure dimension because its a 1 game season when the playoffs start. Plyers and coaches are geeked up for these games and usually give their best effort. The stripes should do the same. Vegas anyone???