Jaguars player’s curious play may have been result of a concussion

One of the stranger plays of the NFL season came midway through Sunday’s Jacksonville Jaguars-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. Tampa Bay’s Bobby Rainey was returning a punt, and Jacksonville’s Bernard Pierce was part of the squad looking to bring him down.

Suddenly, inexplicably, Pierce turned around and began blocking for Rainey, allowing Rainey to add more yardage and reach the Jacksonville 17. The Bucs soon scored, and would go on to win the game 38-31.

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What happened? A mental lapse? Immediately afterward, Pierce was as confused as anyone. “I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t have an answer for you. I can’t really explain it.”

On Monday, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley addressed the situation, adding a concerning note to the proceedings.

“It’s not a good play at all,” he said. “When I saw it I couldn’t believe it, but I know he’s in the concussion protocol. I know after the game he had concussion symptoms. That’s where I’ll leave it at that, the play itself if you watched it.”

When asked if Pierce had suffered a concussion before the play, he replied, “I don’t know. I imagine so.” That’s troubling on several levels—first, that Pierce may have had a concussion severe enough that it completely disoriented him on the field, and second, that it went unnoticed until after the game.

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