How Carolina's gutsy fake punt worked and changed the game against Tennessee

[Sir Purr]

When Jones took the snap, he ran behind Scarlett, who got a good piece of defensive back Dane Cruikshank.


“Scarlett did a heck of a job driving him off the point,” Blackburn said. “But they played it really well.”


Cruikshank was able to get his hands on Jones right at the line of scrimmage. Then came linebacker David Long, Jr., who made contact with Jones three yards short of the line to gain.


“I saw the sticks,” Jones said, “and knew Rivera would kill me if I didn’t get there. I had no choice.”


Jones powered through the two Titans and then got some help from linebacker Andre Smith and defensive end Efe Obada to make it through for a five yard gain.


First down.


“I told House (strength coach Joe Kenn) I’m glad I got an extra set of legs in this week,” joked Jones, who, it should be noted, was an all-state running back at his high school in Texas.


“I know who Colin Jones is and once was,” safety Tre Boston said. “A high school running back, 2,200 yards. I was surprised he didn’t score!”


“Colin just ran it up in there and kept his feet churning,” Blackburn said. “That’s why he’s our leader. That’s why he’s our captain.”


Most of the Panthers sideline had no idea a fake punt was coming. That’s partly by design – you don’t want the players to look at all suspicious, you want them to act as though a run-of-the-mill punt is on the way.


“I didn’t realize what happened,” tight end Greg Olsen said. “I was taking my stuff off on the bench and then I heard the crowd cheer. I looked up and they’re cheering for Colin? Then it dawned on me that we faked it. That was huge.”


The Titans were caught off guard in more ways than one. A few seconds before they were celebrating a three-and-out on the bench. Now their defense was unexpectedly thrust back on the field with the Panthers offense having been given new life.


“Those are critical,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of the fake punt. “I would just say good execution. When I looked, I didn’t feel like we had enough guys over there. We got a hat on them and they pushed the pile.”


After Jones’ gutsy conversion, it took five plays – and two Tennessee penalties – for Carolina to find the end zone courtesy of a 1-yard run from Christian McCaffrey.


Just like that, it was 24-7 and the Panthers went on to win 30-20.


“It’s a point in our season where we’ve got to make something happen, right?” Blackburn said. “If we think we see something or have something, we have to be willing to put ourselves in the that position.


“That was a big momentum swing for us. It changed the game.”