The Jaguars' biggest play of the AFC title game could have ended the Patriots' season but it was squashed by a suspect whistle

CBS

• The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC title game when they blew a 20-10 fourth quarter lead.
• The Jaguars had a shot to end the game in the fourth quarter with a fumble recovery, but instead of being given a touchdown, the play appeared to be called dead by an inadvertent whistle.
• If the whistle had not blown, the Jaguars likely would have taken a 27-10 lead with under 14 minutes to play.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game in heartbreaking fashion when the Pats overcame a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit to pull out the win, 24-20.

Unfortunately for the Jaguars, they had a shot to clinch the game in the fourth quarter. A fumble recovery by Myles Jack, that looked like it could have been returned for a touchdown, was blown dead with what appeared to be an inadvertent whistle.

The play came early in the fourth quarter just after the Jags had kicked a field goal to take a 20-10 lead. The Patriots attempted a trick play and a double-pass led to running back Dion Lewis racing down the sideline for a big gain. However, he was caught from behind by Jack who stripped the ball, recovered the ball, and then jumped up and appeared to be heading towards a game-clinching touchdown.

Now here is where things get complicated.

The ruling on the field was that the Jags had recovered the fumble and Jack was down where he recovered the ball. Officials reviewed the play and upheld the call.

CBS

But what the officials seemingly never noticed was that it appeared that Jack was never down.

After the recovery, Jack immediately jumped up and appeared to have a clear path to the end zone that would have made the game 27-10 and possibly sealed the win for the Jags. Instead, the Jags went on to punt the ball back to the Patriots three plays later.

Here is the replay. It is close, but it appeared that Jack was never touched once he recovered the ball.

Unfortunately for the Jags, an inadvertent whistle can not be overturned. But the Jags and their fans can only imagine now how the game might have turned out different if the official had held his whistle a tad longer.