San Francisco 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt could have closed out the game against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. Late in the game, quarterback Matthew Stafford sailed a pass his way, and with no one around him, Tartt let the football bounce off his hands and fall to the ground.
Holding onto the football could have sealed a 49ers win. Instead, the Rams went on to win 20-17, punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVI. It was a costly missed opportunity by Tartt, and the safety accepted the blame for the play, and the loss, after the game.
"No excuses!!" Tartt tweeted out. "I deserve all the criticism my way! Opportunity I dream of I came up short!!! Let my brothers down!! It Still won't define me as a person/player. Only will get stronger and better."
No excuses!! I deserve all the criticism my way! Opportunity I dream of I came up short!!! Let my brothers down!! It Still won't define me as a person/player. Only will get stronger and better... #Believdat
— Jaquiski 'Quaski' Tartt (@quaski) January 31, 2022
Tartt didn't hide from reporters after the game and was among the players who took part in the post-game press conferences—the last of the season.
"For me, it's tough," Tartt said. "A lot of athletes dream of just being in this moment, tie ball game, you can make that game-changing play. And for me, that's something I was thinking about all week. 'I know I can make that play.' And when the play came up, I didn't make it.
"I know that was a big play of the game, a big opportunity for me, and for the team, and as a player, I just feel like I let my brothers down. But for us, we didn't play like we needed to play. We left a lot of [plays] on the [field], and obviously, my play was a crucial one that I left on the field. I really wish I could have it back but at the end of the day ... take your hat off for the Rams. They came in and did what they had to do."
Tartt was asked what was going through his head as he saw the ball sailing his way with no Rams players around him.
"He (Stafford) f--ked up," Tartt responded. "We about to win this game. When it hit my hands, I thought I had it, and then I don't know how I dropped it. I didn't drop a ball in practice all week, caught everything that came my way. It ain't too much you can do to practice a moment like that. The only time you get that moment is when you get it. For me, it's a moment of truth. A moment of truth showed, and I didn't step up."
A reporter asked head coach Kyle Shanahan if he had a chance to speak with Tartt about the play yet.
"I haven't got a chance to talk to him," Shanahan responded. "Tartt has done a lot of good things. I thought he was one of the best players on the field last week versus Green Bay. I've loved him being on our team here since I've been here. I know he's disappointed in that drop that he had but there's a lot of other plays in the game. I'm very happy that Tartt was on our team this year."
Safety Jimmie Ward was asked what he told Tartt after the play.
"Just catch the next one that's coming to you," Ward said to Tartt. "There was a lot of plays out there, and we could have did better, including myself. ... That wasn't the play that cost us. It was a lot of plays."
While there's probably a segment of the fan base that will point to that play as the reason the 49ers didn't win the game, Tartt's teammates don't blame the safety.
"Obviously, he missed an opportunity but there's, I think, 70 other plays," defensive end Nick Bosa said. "I'm sure a lot of guys missed a lot of opportunities out there. It's football. It's one play. And we're definitely going to be there for him."
The 49ers' remarkable season is over, and the offseason begins. They'll watch from home as the division-rival Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Kirk Larrabee contributed to this article.