Xavier Legette Reveals He Didn't Realize He Dropped Game-Winning Catch vs Eagles

Legette thought he had caught the pass for the touchdown.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette drops a potential game-winning pass against the Philadelphia Eagles. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers nearly pulled off one of the upsets of the year when rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette appeared to catch what could have been the game-winning touchdown against the heavily favored Philadelphia Eagles. Legette jumped out to haul in the pass, but the football hit the turf as he tried to secure it.

Had Legette successfully brought in the pass and the Panthers successfully kicked the extra point, the Panthers would have taken a 23–22 lead over the Eagles with under a minute remaining. The Eagles still would have had nearly 45 seconds with all three timeouts to try and re-take the lead with either a field goal or touchdown, but the touchdown would have given Carolina a shot at a massive upset.

When Legette stood up with the football in his hands, he raised his arms to make the "touchdown" signal. The referees would rule the pass incomplete seconds later, to Legette's surprise.

Legette recalled to Amon-ra and Equanimeous St. Brown that he didn't even realize the football touched the ground as he was bringing it in.

"I never felt it hit the ground when it happened," Legette said on the St. Brown Podcast. When I get back in the locker room and looked at it I'm like, 'no way.'"

"I never felt it hit the ground when it happened. When I get back in the locker room and looked at it I'm like 'No way.'"

Panthers WR Xavier Legette discusses his drop in the final moments of the loss to the Eagles 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/51wZenECYl

— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) December 11, 2024

The drop was also disappointing to Amon-ra, who was hoping that the Panthers would upset the Eagles so that his team, the Lions, would have a better chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The 12–1 Lions hold a narrow lead over the 11–2 Eagles for the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

"I'm watching the Eagles game, like, 'Can the Eagles please lose because we're trying to get that one seed secured," Amon-ra recalled. "I'm like 'Damn, these boys are about to do it.' You guys go down the field, I'm like, 'He caught it! He caught it! Ah f---!'"

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