Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Moments after the downpour began, Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert threw an interception to Sherrod Martin on a deep pass, and if you were watching at home you probably didn’t see it. The camera lens – and everyone in the stadium – was drenched.
“It just felt like a dream,” Stewart said. “You would slide like five yards when you got tackled. I just remember the water rising and you were literally standing in ankle deep water.”
Cam Newton and the Panthers offense took over, and Stewart nearly pulled off something miraculous.
Stewart caught a screen pass and was leveled, but he never actually hit the ground. He landed on top of a defender and flipped back to his feet to continue running (watch the play in the video above).
Stewart scampered about 60 yards before he was brought down inside the 5-yard line.
But the officials took another look and determined that his left elbow was down.
“I wasn’t down. That sucks. I don’t think I was down,” Stewart said all these years later. “It’s still probably one of my best runs. I really wish they wouldn’t have brought that back.”
The Jaguars got another possession before half, and after a long run from running back Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville called a timeout with six seconds remaining in the half.
“They were pushing people out of the stadium because of all the water everywhere,” Jones-Drew recalled. “It was definitely crazy a couple times getting tackled, because your face was in the water and it felt like you were drowning. It was nuts.”
Then Gabbert tossed a pass down the middle to wide receiver Mike Thomas, and a coverage breakdown allowed him to make his way to the end zone for head-shaking 36-yard score as time expired. That gave the visitors a 10-5 halftime lead (Carolina opened the scoring with a safety).
“Stupid play – that's the only way you can put it,” safety Jordan Pugh said after the game.
It finally stopped raining midway through the third quarter, but by that time, the field had already taken on several inches of water. Huge splashes occurred after every tackle. It was like a slip-and-slide. No one could get proper footing. Everyone had trouble holding onto the ball.