Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 27: Win Or Go Home (Gordon)

What we as NFL rookies came to expect was hard fought, tough, and a higher level of competition than what we had been used to in college. What we didn't expect was a tale of two seasons. We began the season at 7-2 and we were flying high. We played so well that we believed that no one was even close to beating us and that all that could beat us was our misfortunes.

What happened over the next seven games was something we didn't see coming. After our winning streak was snapped to of all teams, our division rival Tennessee Titans, which pissed us off because we never like losing to our rivals, we settled down and took care of business against the New York Jets with a dominating 58-20 win. But that's when things took more of a downward spiral.

We lost back-to-back home games to both the Colts and the Seattle Seahawks. Then, after taking a 20-7 lead entering the fourth quarter, we conceded 21 unanswered Jaguars points to trail 28-20. Todd did get us a touchdown to trail 28-26 only for the two-point conversion to not go for us. We lost that game by two. All of a sudden, we were sitting at 8-6 in the midst of a three-game losing streak and were in danger of missing the playoffs.

We had a team meeting that Monday after the loss to the Jaguars where guys were ripping each other apart saying there was inconsistent play all around. I didn't say anything, but listened to the passion and fiery speeches made by some of the veterans while Troy tried to light a fire in all of the rookies. Even though he was still a rookie, he had earned the respect of the veterans that they listened to him as a defensive leader.

The last thing I remember from that meeting was that someone that did the stats for our games informed us of two things. We were fighting with three other teams (Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Miami Dolphins) for the final two spots in the playoffs. Despite the craziness going on there, it was discovered that if we won two of our last three games, we would clinch a playoff spot. That revelation gave us a new sense of life and we decided to focus on winning the next game.

The game against the Los Angeles Chargers was a dogfight. Trailing 7-3 at halftime, we put together two drives in the second half to lead 17-7. Though the Chargers scored late in the fourth quarter, we picked up some keep first downs and ran down the clock. With two games left to go, we turned our attention to winning that one game to get us in the playoffs.

But the San Francisco 49ers made things difficult for us. Despite leading 14-10 at halftime, we were plagued by three turnovers from our offense that could've put the game away. In the third quarter, two more turnovers led to 49er scores and they led 24-14. Todd managed to get us back in the game with a fourth quarter. After our defense stopped San Francisco, we had the ball with a chance to win the game.

Then, disaster struck. As Todd took the snap on the first play, one of our offensive linemen slipped and fell backwards, which allowed his man to get by and spear Todd in the back forcing a fumble. Todd's head hit the turf hard and he was struggling to get up. The 49ers recovered the ball and would run out the clock sealing their win.

Now, we were in a situation where we needed to win the last game or our season was done. Miami had already clinched one of final spots. So, we needed to win our game or have either Jacksonville or Cincinnati lose their game just to get it.

What was a bigger concern was the health of our quarterback. Todd managed to get up, but he couldn't remember anything that happened. Diagnosed with a concussion, Todd was faced with the prospect of sitting out the final week of the season with the playoffs on the line. We hoped that wasn't the case, but both Chet Yelich and I were called into Coach Robinson's office a few days prior to our last game against the Tennessee Titans.

"Todd is not suiting up this week do to a concussion," he started the meeting. "He could play, but we're not taking a chance. So therefore, you two have been bumped up a spot. Chet's going to start the game while Gordon, you're the backup. Both of you need to be ready because this is the biggest game of our season to date. We won't do too much, but we will try to make adjustments if need be. Understand?"