Peyton Manning dropped back to pass the ball with the San Francisco 49ers’ defense barreling down on him.
The Broncos’ quarterback took a few steps backward and fired a pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in the endzone, officially marking Manning’s 509th career touchdown passing, giving him the NFL all-time record at the time.
Manning’s receivers took that ball – the record-breaking ball – and played a game of Monkey in the Middle with Manning on the sideline. While Manning had to work a little to get it, there was no way anyone in the stadium other than him was leaving with that ball.
There are countless stories from the sports world where players keep a certain game ball signifying a last-second win or a record-broken.
So let’s look at it from a Tennessee perspective. What ever happened to the game ball from Tennessee’s Hail Mary win over Georgia?
The story doesn’t need to be repeated to most Tennessee fans, though that doesn’t stop them from wanting to hear it again. With four seconds left on the clock on a Saturday in Athens, Tennessee trailing 31-28, Josh Dobbs launched a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings in the middle of the endzone.
While both players are continuing their football careers in the NFL, the two former teammates met up on The Torchbearer’s Podcast to relive that moment and finally figure out what ever happened to that game ball.
“I relive that moment over and over in my head all the time,” Jennings said about the play on the podcast. “And I just remember you going to get the ball.”
“You were so excited and everyone was carrying you off the field,” Dobbs said. “And you know when you get excited, you kind of like blackout low key. You took the Hail Mary ball and you just chucked it all the way across the field! I’m like bro, that thing is history right there! We can’t let that thing go!”
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Jennings recalls chucking the ball and then immediately seeing his quarterback break out of the huddle to chase down the bouncing ball.
“I thought someone from Tennessee would have it,” Jennings said. “I knew someone from Georgia wasn’t going to take it!”
So where’s the ball now? In the Tennessee Football Center with other game balls and awards? College Football Hall of Fame, maybe?
“I got it. It’s back at the parent’s crib,” Dobbs said with a laugh. “I got it!”
The two closed down the segment by agreeing it was their ball together no matter who actually still had it.
From a Tennessee perspective, what’s great about seeing Josh Dobbs and Jauan Jennings together is knowing that it won’t be their last time together anytime soon. After a wild season that saw all the ups and downs the sport can provide in 2023, Josh Dobbs signed a contract with Jennings’ San Francisco 49ers this offseason.
Dobbs, Jennings, and the 49ers will now look to claim a Super Bowl trophy in 2024.
Check out the conversation with Dobbs and Jennings from the Torchbearer’s Podcast below.
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