I’ve been part of those sorts of games. And, believe me, those are also all the games that everyone else remembers as well.
I’ve had people come up to me and rattle off stats from, say, the national championship title game against Alabama. Back in my hometown of Gainesville, some people can recite my high school’s state championship game almost play by play.
As I said, those are the most visible types of games, and every athlete lives to experience them. I’ve been blessed to take part in a number of games that drew national, coast-to-coast attention.
But I also know that sort of attention, however rewarding in its own way, is not what leadership is all about. Many factors are far more important and valuable than people remembering final scores and statistics—things such as dedication, loyalty, trust, and any number of characteristics that servant leaders should have in their tool kit.
That’s why I’ve decided to include this chapter of my favorite “under the radar” games—those games that meant a great deal to me but didn’t get the attention of a national championship bowl game or an NFL playoff game.
Even though they may not have gotten the same level of attention as other games I’ve been in, I’ve found these games to be most instructive to me as a servant leader. In a certain way, it’s as though less prominent games can be particularly educational; their lessons and message aren’t as likely to be drowned out by mass attention, which can prove to be distracting.
I’ll conclude this chapter with a description of my perfect game—my imaginary scenario of how an ideal game should go. It contains a few surprises you might not expect, particularly from the standpoint of development as a servant leader.
OCTOBER 1, 2017: TENNESSEE TITANS IN HOUSTON
I discussed this game briefly in an earlier part of the book, but to recap: we won at home 57–14. Personally, I completed twenty-five of thirty-four passes for 283 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. I also rushed for 24 yards and one touchdown.
The game itself offered plenty to be proud of. My five total scores tied for the second-most touchdowns scored by a rookie in NFL history behind Gale Sayers’s six touchdowns in 1965 (nice company). I also tied for the most touchdowns in a game by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. Not long thereafter, I was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
But it was meaningful in ways that went beyond statistics and honors.
For one thing, it was the first significant win in my professional career. It’s true that we had already beaten Cincinnati earlier in the year, but that was a much closer game. This one was far more dominant.
Because I was a young player, the win was beneficial for me in a number of ways. First, it was a real confidence builder. I’ve always been a confident person by nature, but even the most self-assured among us occasionally needs evidence to support that attitude. The Titans game gave me that confidence boost. I knew for sure I could play very well at this level, and the win did a lot for my view of my skills.
It was also a very important game to me with regard to my leadership skills. This was my first professional game in which I played the entire time. In the huddle, I could sense the other players’ confidence in me. Further, I could tell their own confidence was growing too. They knew as well as I did that this was no fluke. The growing group synergy was amazing to experience.
* * *
THE TITANS GAME GAVE ME THAT CONFIDENCE BOOST. I KNEW FOR SURE I COULD PLAY VERY WELL AT THIS LEVEL, AND THE WIN DID A LOT FOR MY VIEW OF MY SKILLS.
* * *
Perhaps most valuable of all, I recognized that, despite the success of a lopsided game, this was no time to rest on our laurels. Sure, the win was great, but we needed to keep our focus and continue to move forward. I made sure to share that sentiment with the rest of my teammates.
I was learning the servant leader’s role in making certain that success doesn’t lead to complacency. It was great to celebrate the win, but not everything about the game was 100 percent perfect. We needed to work on those lapses and mistakes to continue to enjoy success.
I was living the advice that Tom Brady once shared with me: always look at yourself as the underdog, the one with something to prove. Keeping that attitude in mind was a bit challenging given the big win, but I worked to sustain it. The last thing a servant leader wants to see is short-term success that compromises long-term objectives. I did not want that to happen, and I continue to keep that mindset to this day.
PASS IT ON
•Think back to a time or experience when you enjoyed great success. How long did you allow yourself to bask in the glow of that success? Did it lead to issues later on, such as complacency? Or did that success fuel your hunger to keep working as hard as possible?
YOUR CHALLENGE
The next time you’re successful at something, look at yourself as the underdog—one for whom that sort of success is somewhat surprising. Maintain that underdog attitude as you move forward, and see if it leads to continued success. Remember that the underdog is always the hungriest one in the pack.
OCTOBER 29, 2017: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS IN SEATTLE
This was a wild game, to put it mildly. The final result, a 41–38 loss to the Seahawks, doesn’t paint the entire picture that the game deserves. It careened back and forth the entire way. We were tied 21–21 at the end of the first half, and Seattle inched ahead three points by the end of the third quarter.
Then things really burst loose. We scored two touchdowns in the final quarter to inch out a four-point lead. But Russell Wilson, the Seahawks’ dominant quarterback and leader, was on the other side of the ball.
Down 38–34 with 1:39 left and no timeouts remaining, Wilson took Seattle eighty yards in barely a minute. He hit Paul Richardson for forty-eight yards on a jump ball to start the drive and found Tyler Lockett for nineteen more yards. He then zipped a strike to Jimmy Graham for the game winner. I wasn’t able to respond and was intercepted by Richard Sherman on a desperation throw with seven seconds left.
Again, the numbers were great—for the most part. I threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns. At that point in the season, I had nineteen passing touchdowns, the most by a rookie in his first seven games of a season.
But I was also intercepted three times, twice by Sherman—a continuing issue I needed to work on. Even worse, one of the interceptions by Earl Thomas was returned seventy-eight yards for a pick-six touchdown.
Still, the Seahawks were very complimentary of our team and of me. In fact, Wilson joked at the end of the game that the league should “go ahead and give him rookie of the year. I love watching him.”1
But the pleasure was every bit as much mine in watching Wilson work. His athletic ability goes without saying. He finished twenty-six of forty-one passes for a career-high 452 yards and four touchdowns.
But the intangibles were also off the charts. His poise, his ability to make intelligent decisions on the fly, and his competitiveness shone through on every play. You could see that Russell never takes a play off, no matter if the Seahawks are winning by five touchdowns or down twenty-eight with a minute to go.
That was a great lesson for me as a servant leader. In watching Wilson perform, it was obvious how hard he constantly worked, how he never let his energy level lag for an instant. Moreover, I could see how he shared that energy with the rest of his teammates, raising their game.
It was also a lesson that a servant leader cannot live in a vacuum. By that I mean, no matter how successful an individual servant leader may be, success means very little if the group as a whole doesn’t also enjoy a similar level of success. In this case, both Wilson and I turned in great individual performances. In his case, however, that success was tied into the success of the team. To me, that matters more than the most amazing individual statistic imaginable.
* * *
NO MATTER HOW SUCCESSFUL AN INDIVIDUAL SERVANT LEADER MAY BE, SUCCESS MEANS VERY LITTLE IF THE GROUP AS A WHOLE DOESN’T ALSO ENJOY A SIMILAR LEVEL OF SUCCESS.
* * *
This game also reinforced the teaching value of failure. As I’ve stressed, losing can teach you far more than winning can. It’s important to approach a loss as a learning experience every bit as much as a disappointment—hopefully a short-lived disappointment.
PASS IT ON
•Consider an experience where you or someone else enjoyed amazing individual success but the group as a whole did not. If that was you, how did it make you feel? If it was someone else, how did that person react? Did he or she crow about the achievement or express more concern about the others who were not as successful?
YOUR CHALLENGE
Approach your next group project or challenge with two-tiered attention. Pay attention to both your own personal success and that of the entire group. Are they similar levels of success? If you’re more successful than the others, examine your behavior—are you more happy or disappointed? Consider if you as a servant leader can sacrifice some of your own personal success so that the group as a whole benefits.
DECEMBER 25, 2017: PITTSBURGH STEELERS IN HOUSTON
This may seem like an unusual choice to be included in meaningful games.
For one thing, it took place on Christmas Day. As much as I love playing football, because I’m a Christian, this day obviously has a good deal more meaning to me than just another game day.
For another, it was a blowout. The Steelers manhandled us from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, 34–6. They took a quick ten-point lead in the first quarter capped by a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Justin Hunter and never looked back from there. Our only score came in the fourth quarter on a touchdown throw to DeAndre Hopkins. It was pretty much a one-sided affair from beginning to end.
Perhaps even more unusual, it wasn’t me who made that touchdown pass; it was T. J. Yates. I didn’t play a single down in this game.
It was several weeks after my season-ending ACL tear. I watched from the sidelines in frustration—over the way the game went as well as my inability to do anything about it.
That’s why I’ve included this particular game in my list of meaningful NFL experiences. This one taught me a number of valuable lessons.
First, participation is everything. Lacking any way of contributing to the effort of the group is one of the most frustrating ordeals a servant leader can experience. If you’re hoping to lead, being removed from what’s going on can be an exercise in futility.
But even though I was upset about not being able to play, I realized that I had to contribute in any way possible, no matter what that might be. In my case, I talked to T. J. as much as I could, offering my perspective as to what he might try the next time we had the ball. As a servant leader, even if you don’t occupy the role you would like to, at the very least you can look for ways to continue to lead and support those around you.
That game reinforced my conviction to regain my physical health and return to playing shape as soon as I could. Anger and helplessness can be powerful motivators, and I experienced both those emotions on that Christmas Day. I knew I had to get back to where I needed to be and where the team needed me to be. It really honed my focus.
That game also reinforced my desire to learn as much as possible, no matter the circumstances. For me, that meant studying Ben Roethlisberger as much as I could, watching him direct Pittsburgh’s offense and taking mental notes of how he went through his progressions to find an open receiver. As I’ve said before, a growing servant leader is always a student, and I tried to take as much away from that game as possible, knowing I could use the information to my benefit later.
* * *
THAT GAME REINFORCED MY CONVICTION TO REGAIN MY PHYSICAL HEALTH AND RETURN TO PLAYING SHAPE AS SOON AS I COULD.
* * *
And it was a game we lost. Again, losing is always a far better teacher than winning. When you win, it’s easy to get caught up in all the things you did right without paying enough attention to things that demand work—and there are always things to be worked on. When you lose, everything is called into question, and rightfully so. You always lose for a reason—usually, several reasons—and it challenges you to step up and honestly review what happened. Losing is a call to action to improve that you can’t ignore.
Lastly, the game was yet another education in patience. First, I couldn’t play, which required acceptance on my part. Second, we lost—a challenge to review just what went wrong that also mandated patience.
Additionally, the timing of the game was a valuable lesson in patience that cuts both ways. On the one hand, we were nearing the end of the season. There was just one more game on the schedule—and with a 4–11 record at the time, the only place we were going after the last game was home. We were struggling. There weren’t going to be any more “next weeks” to look forward to for a while. There were no short-term opportunities at redemption on the horizon.
But in my case as well as the entire team’s, the fact that the season was ending—with many months to go before we stepped on a field to play a meaningful game again—afforded the opportunity of time. For me, I had the time to rehab and get back into playing shape. For the team, there was time to review what had happened during a disappointing season, make adjustments, and, hopefully, perform much better when the next season arrived.
Patience, I came to learn, is one of the most important tools in a servant leader’s skill set. Leaders can take a period of time that others might see as long and frustrating and, instead, make the most of the opportunity that time affords to learn, grow, and improve—and point out that opportunity to the others they wish to serve.
PASS IT ON
•When was the last time you experienced a loss or some other form of disappointment and could do nothing about it? How did it make you feel? Did you see yourself as completely helpless, or did you do what you could under whatever circumstances you encountered?
YOUR CHALLENGE
You can’t be directly involved in every situation that means something to you. The next time that happens, look for any opportunity to contribute in some way or another. However small or seemingly insignificant, look to see how your contribution impacts what’s going on. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results of what you thought would be of little value.
MY PERFECT GAME
Now, having covered some real-life examples, let’s talk about what I would consider my perfect game—not necessarily the best in terms of outcome but in terms of what would occur during the game itself and what the competitors would derive from the experience.
The term perfect game generally suggests something, well, perfect. Something without any mistakes or mishaps. In baseball, for instance, a perfect game means no hits, no runs, and not even a single base runner.
People often ask me if I think I’ve ever played a perfect game. The reply is an obvious no. Regardless of the outcome of the game, no matter how fantastic the statistics, I’ve never played a perfect game. There’s always room for improvement.
But as a servant leader looking for every opportunity to grow and improve, I’ve thought a lot about what a perfect game would be like from my perspective. What sort of game would be most valuable to me in terms of what I could take away and learn from the experience?
Here’s what I would consider a perfect game. Some of the details and characteristics may surprise you!
First, the teams would be evenly matched, down to the very last player on the bench, the coaching staff, the medical support people, the temperature of the Gatorade, everything. Breaking it down mathematically, that would mean that both teams would have a completely equal chance of winning.
Obviously, in the real world, that’s simply not possible. No two teams have ever competed on a completely equal footing. I always have to chuckle a bit when I hear or read something about two teams being evenly matched. There’s really no such thing. They may be close in ability, perhaps, but never completely even.
But, in my mind, a perfect game would naturally involve two teams th
at are mirror images of each other. That would offer the best opportunity for each team to showcase their abilities, strategy, and execution. The challenge would be balanced—something a servant leader embraces.
(This may seem to run counter to the advice Tom Brady gave me about always looking at yourself as the underdog. It doesn’t; that’s a mindset, not necessarily a fact. Looking at yourself as the underdog is a form of motivation—something to draw from when you’re in an evenly matched situation.)
Further, a perfect game for me would have plenty of mistakes in addition to incredible performances. Again, that may seem to contradict the very idea of a perfect game. Like the baseball pitcher who completely shuts down the opposition, you would think any “perfect game” would be utterly flawless.
But the perfect game that exists only in my mind would have its share of mistakes. And the reason should be obvious by now—mistakes are among our very best teachers, as long as you let them take on that role. Being mistake-free is not only impossible but it denies us the chance to experience mistakes for what they are: opportunities for growth and improvement.
That’s why, in my perfect game, any mistake would happen only once. Whoever made a mistake would learn from it and never make it a second time.
There would still be injuries—though nothing serious! Injuries are just a form of setback, a challenge to be addressed and overcome. Servant leaders expect those sorts of hurdles and are able to adjust to whatever situation may arise. They also encourage others to anticipate similar setbacks.
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