Jason Kelce breaks down the coaching mindset after Emari Demercado's goal-line blunder

Jason Kelce weighed in on Emari Demercado’s infamous goal-line fumble, explaining how coaches usually handle such “flabbergasting” mistakes with restraint rather than rage.

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Jason Kelce in the frame.

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Kelce said on the New Heights podcast that coaches often avoid berating players after obvious blunders, knowing they already feel the sting.

Demercado’s costly fumble triggered Arizona’s late collapse against Tennessee, followed by coach Jonathan Gannon’s sideline outburst and subsequent $100,000 fine.

Jason Kelce expressed his opinion on one of the NFL's head-scratching moments this season: Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado's goal line fumble on Sunday.

The former Philadelphia Eagles center, now a media personality and podcast, addressed the play on Wednesday. He talked about how coaches typically respond when a player makes such unimaginable mistakes.

"I'll say this typically when something so is just flabbergasting, it's not even hyped up to the level that I think you would expect," Kelce said (56:24), via the "New Heights" podcast. "If this happened and I feel like I was the coach, or, like some of the coaches I've had, it'd be like, guys, like, what are we doing? What the f*ck are we doing?

 

 

"Finish through the letters and logos. Like, because the reality is this dude's been crushed enough like he knows right away he f*cked up. Yeah, so typically the coach is more, he's like, we don't need to harp on it. It's more like a 'Guys, we know we can't do this.' You emphasize the rule."

 

 

Demercado was set to deliver a 72-yard touchdown before letting go of the football just shy of the goal line. The ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback, handing possession to the Tennessee Titans early in the fourth quarter.

Cardinals' collapsed followed Emari Demercado's costly lapse

Arizona's 21-6 lead evaporated as Tennessee rallied behind a pair of late scoring dives, capped by Joey Sly's 29-yard field goal to secure 22-21.

After the turnover, Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon became involved in a confrontation with Emari Demercado on the sideline, which was captured live on the broadcast. Arizona fined Gannon $100,000 for making contact with the running back. He asked for forgiveness to the team the following day for losing his cool.

The fumble was one of several self-inflicted errors that doomed the team. A misfired snap off Kyler Murray's facemask killed a red zone trip, while an interception return gave Tennessee another shot that resulted in a touchdown. The Cardinals' conservative play-calling of three straight runs before punting on their final drive also drew postgame criticism.

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