Season changing NFL play in Week 18 was a reminder of the worst play of the Jeremy Pruitt era at Tennessee
A controversial play at the end of the Jacksonville Jaguars' loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was reminiscent of what was arguably the worst play of the Jeremy Pruitt era for the Tennessee Vols. On the Jaguars' final play against the Titans, with Jacksonville's playoff hopes on the line, quarterback Trevor Lawrence changed the […]
A controversial play at the end of the Jacksonville Jaguars' loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was reminiscent of what was arguably the worst play of the Jeremy Pruitt era for the Tennessee Vols.
On the Jaguars' final play against the Titans, with Jacksonville's playoff hopes on the line, quarterback Trevor Lawrence changed the play at the line of scrimmage and called his own number. On fourth-and-goal from the one, Lawrence attempted to jump over the line of scrimmage to get the ball across the goal line. He failed and the Jaguars' season ended without a playoff appearance.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the game that he called for a handoff.
Publicly, Pederson didn't seem to have a problem with Lawrence's decision, even though it proved to be a poor decision that cost Jacksonville a shot at the playoffs.
Nearly five years ago, former Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano made a similar decision in a close game against Alabama.
Tennessee had a chance to make it a one score game against the Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter, but Guarantano changed the play on his own at the line of scrimmage to a play that looked like Lawrence's audible. Guarantano fumbled the ball and it was returned by Alabama for a touchdown.
The play led to an angry reaction from Pruitt.
Pruitt didn't necessarily throw Guarantano under the bus after the game, declining to tell reporters exactly what happened.
Vols offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy, however, was pretty clear about the situation.
“When we left the huddle, we had one call but I’m not sure what happened between that," said Kennedy.
The next day, while meeting with the media, Pruitt said it was "obvious" what happened.
Ultimately, Lawrence and Guarantano were both just being competitors and doing what they thought was best in that situation. But each of them would've been better off just sticking with the play that their coaches called.
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