It's not that Jacksonville Jaguars' Ameer Abdullah had an internal clock telling him when to hit the ground on his kickoff return against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 11 at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That might be the natural assumption. Abdullah has been in the NFL for 12 years and was playing in his 159th game. Surely he knew that when he gathered Jake Lewis' kick at the Jaguars 8 with 8 seconds left after Lewis kicked a 48-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 17-16 lead, the Jags needed a big return, but it would be a race against time to get close enough for Cam Little to attempt a field goal.
But Abdullah didn't guess. He said he was able to keep his eyes on a scoreboard clock as he felt Jonathan Jones grab him from behind after
he followed several key blocks and broke through a seam in the Eagles' coverage unit.
"I had a physical [clock]," Abdullah said. "I had one [scoreboard clock] I could see, and I saw it had just ticked from three seconds to two seconds. At that time I just wanted to cover the ball up, get down."
Ameer Abdullah set the stage for Little's field goal
Abdullah went 53 yards in 7 seconds. When he was tackled by Jones at the Philadelphia 39, Abdullah popped up, saw 0:00 seconds on the clock, but knew there was still a tick left.
He held up one finger and looked around. Referee Ronald Torbert agreed, and a second was put back on.
Little then came in and kicked a field goal 4 yards longer than Abdullah's return, and the Jaguars won 19-17.
Once the Eagles elected to kick the ball in play (and avoid Josh Cameron, who had a kickoff return for a touchdown nullified on the game's opening play because of a holding penalty), Abdullah said it became tricky. The Jaguars needed a big return but also needed time left on the clock.
There was also another issue: If he went down on his own without any contact from a defender, the clock would keep ticking until either an Eagles player touched him or an official ruled him down.
"I don't know how that would have played out," he said. "I don't know the rules in terms of what the referees are designating as giving yourself up on the run. I'm glad [Jones] was there when I finally decided to go down."
Abdullah moved swiftly behind key blocks
Once Abdullah settled under the ball, a huge gap opened in front of him, thanks to one key block after another.
There was Jahlani Tavai taking out Jones. Quintin Morris erasing Arnold Ebiketie. Cameron coming across from the left to block Kelee Ringo.
Abdullah said the return worked because the special teams unit had practiced it over and over again under coordinator Heath Farwell.
"It starts with the things that we do to put ourselves as close as we can to game reality in practice," Abdullah said. "It's on display in the moment we need it the most."
Abdullah and Morris: 'We have a telepathy'
Abdullah lauded every player who blocked for him on the return but said Morris' block was especially meaningful. Morris also had a key block on Cameron's kickoff return that was wiped out by the penalty.
"He's a guy that's always going to be selfless," Abdullah said of the five-year veteran. "He's always going to put himself in situations to spring the big play."
Abdullah said he and Morris "have a telepathy going on."
"I'm glad we were able to do it when it counted the most," he said.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen said he was thankful that Abdullah, who has played for six NFL teams, was there when the team needed him most.
"He's that dude," Coen said. "He's one of the first in the building every single day, he and Parker [Washington]. He takes care of his body, takes care of his mind. He prepares to be a starter. He's been one of the best teammates. He's just such a great human being ... I'm so happy that he's a Jaguar, and I'm very proud of him today."
Little was also appreciative that Abdullah gave him the opportunity for the walk-off field goal.
"Unbelievable moment for him. Unbelievable play at the time," he said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ameer Abdullah took the kickoff, then started his 53-yard race against time
