One of the biggest What-If moments in Jacksonville Jaguars history was whether linebacker Myles Jack was truly down by contact in the 2017 AFC Championship game. Leading 20-10, the 2016 second-round pick recovered a fumble and would've had a clear path to the end zone if the refs had made the right call. Had he scored, the Jags' odds of going to the Super Bowl that year would've increased considerably, but they were robbed of the chance because of an officiating blunder.
At the time, it was obvious, for everyone watching the game, that the refs dropped the ball. What not many people knew was that former Jaguars vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin got a call from the NFL apologizing for the mistake. He recently made an appearance on 1010 XL and talked about the whole situation.
"I keep quiet over that. And I got the compulsatory letter where it said, We're so sorry," Coughlin told host Dan Hicken. "My response to the league was, Do you realize what that would have meant to this town, city if that had been properly officiated, right? Because the ball is in the end zone, right? There's nobody there left. And, you know, they get the ball. Brady takes it down and like he's done so many times."
Granted, the Jaguars still had plenty of time left to come out on top, but the poor officiating surely robbed them of the momentum they had at that point in the game. Since then, the Jags haven't returned to the conference championship. The closest they got was in 2022 when they made it to the divisional round of the playoffs and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, that's been their only postseason appearance since the Myles Jack was/wasn't down debacle.
Myles Jack would've propeled the Jaguars to the Super Bowl
It's easy to understand why Tom Coughlin didn't share that the NFL had reached out to him about he whole ordeal. He didn't want to stir the pot. Moreover, fans and observers knew that Myles Jack could've scored. Having said that, it gives a bit of closure, even if it's frustrating to know that the NFL didn't do much to rectify their mistake.
This begs the question: why didn't the NFL acknowledge the mistake publicly? Simple, it would've delegitimized the New England Patriots' win, and their public image would've taken a massive hit. Furthermore, the league doesn't retroactively change the outcome of football games. It's also worth noting that Coughlin never said when the league apologized. Did they call right away or wait for the uproar to fade?
Either way, Jaguars fans should know that the NFL officially conceded that they potentially robbed them of their chance to play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Whether they had made the most of the opportunity is the topic for another discussion.