Jerick McKinnon had nothing but green grass and the end zone in front of him. With just over 100 seconds left in the biggest game of his life, the former Georgia Southern All-American took the handoff from Patrick Mahomes and headed off left tackle.
Tie ball game.
Super Bowl LVII on the line.
The Eagle defense begged him to score to give Jalen Hurts one last chance.
McKinnon could have put the Kansas City Chiefs up by a touchdown. It was all there. And he slid.
It was an effort that Georgia Southern head baseball coach Rodney Hennon would be proud of.
"Terrific pop-up slide," Hennon joked on Monday. "The slide was smooth, but I loved that he had the presence of mind to pop up and make sure he stepped out of bounds. It surely would have also translated well onto the baseball field."
The social media world agreed, lauding McKinnon for the heads-up play. It would have been easy for him to take it into the end zone and become the first former Georgia Southern player to score in a Super Bowl. But it was a smart play and ended up sealing the game. After three plays that burned all but eight seconds of that game clock, Harrison Butker easily made the short field goal to all but ensure McKinnon would become the third former Eagle player to get a ring.
McKinnon played a significant role in the win, playing 30 snaps on offense (55%) and eight on special teams (28%). He averaged 8.5 yards on just four carries, tallying 34 yards on the ground, and caught three passes for 15 yards. But it was the slide that everyone was talking about. After the game, McKinnon and his teammates told reporters they always practiced that situation.
"It was a smart decision on him," Mahomes said afterward. "And in that big of a moment, you just want to run in and score the touchdown. We work on that stuff every single week to prepare ourselves for those moments."
"That was a big-time, unselfish play," offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said to the media. "That's what you want. Those are the quality of men that you want in the building. On top of that, you want them to relish in those opportunities."
In the official stat book, it simply reads:
1-10-PHI 11 - (1:48) (Shotgun) - J.McKinnon left end to PHI 2 for 9 yards; Timeout #3 by PHI at 01:36.
It wasn't sexy. It wasn't a SportsCenter Top 10 play. But it was smart, and it helped secure a championship.
McKinnon is now in an elite club of former Eagles to win a Super Bowl, joining defensive end Fred Stokes who won a title with the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXVI, and cornerback Earthwind Moreland, who got a ring with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
It took 18 years, but there is now a third champion.
And while McKinnon doesn't get to put a Super Bowl touchdown on his resume, he'll surely be happy with raising the Lombardi Trophy.