NFL Admits UCLA's Myles Jack Wasn't Down in AFC Championship

In the NFL, one moment can define a player's career. One second is all it takes to change the trajectory of a path. That's what happened to former UCLA linebacker Myles Jack on January 21, 2018

Up 20-10 over the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter of the 2018 AFC Championship Game, Jack and the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, known as Sacksonville, was impacting Tom Brady's ability to move the football to the point the Patriots dialed up a double pass screen to Dion Lewis.

Lewis is making his way up the field, quickly gaining yards as he advanced into Jacksonville territory until Jack comes flying in out of nowhere, stripping the ball from Lewis, making the recovery. As Jack stood up to advance the ball, the refs blew the whistle, believing he had been touched while down after gaining possession of the ball.

The problem is he wasn't touched and despite having a clear path to the endzone with no Patriots players in sight, since the whistle was blown, the Jaguars gained possession inside their own territory instead of going up by 17 points as they should have.

Patriots made a defensive stop, momentum shifted, the Patriots scored 14 unanswered, and they went to the Super Bowl.

Now, years later, Tom Coughlin went on 1010XL radio with Dan Hicken, telling Duval County that the NFL acknowledged they were wrong, sending a letter stating they blew the call.

"How you keep quiet over that one," exclaimed Coughlin when discussing the play. "And I got the compulsory letter which said, we're so sorry... My response to the league was, 'do you realize what that would have meant to this town if that had been properly officiated?' Because the ball is in the end zone, right? There's nobody there left you know and they get the ball, Brady takes it down, and like he's done so many times."

While everyone with eyes knew he wasn't down, that doesn't change the impact of what happened. Not only did Jacksonville lose a game they should've won, it lead to the destruction of the defense. Jack, a second year player at the time, witnessed all of his star studded teammates leave within three years.

Players such as Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, Paul Posluszny, Telvin Smith, Dante Fowler Jr, Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson, and Yannick Ngakoue would soon leave.

Jack did eventually sign a massive extension, but his career never fully recovered. He was released two years into a four-year deal and appears to be out of football while being 29 years old. All because of one blown whistle.

The 2018 AFC Championship Game also marked the last appearance for Marcedes Lewis, with the UCLA legend securing his first postseason touchdown in the game.

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