Each week during the NFL Playoffs, we watch teams win and move on as they celebrate being one step closer to the Super Bowl. At the same time, there is another team on the opposite sideline disappointed that their season is over.

We’ve already seen some incredible performances and game-winning plays, but we’ve also witnessed players making huge mistakes in the biggest moments.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the reigning Super Bowl Champs, but their quest to win another one ended on Sunday. They had their chances and there were multiple reasons they lost to the Saints, but the one play that will stick in the minds of fans is the dropped pass by Alshon Jeffery. The ball went right through the hands of the Eagles’ top receiver and resulted in an interception.

It was tough to watch the game end on a play like that, but it was encouraging to see his teammates and coaches take the opportunity to rally around him. Instead of leaving him alone or getting mad at him, they showed him support.

Jeffery was quoted as saying that QB Nick Foles “told me he loved playing with me and we wouldn’t have won a Super Bowl without me.”

Head coach Doug Pederson said, “I told him to keep his head up. I was proud of him for just continuing to fight and battle. He’s made more good catches than not and I didn’t want this to define him because he’s going to make more of those plays down the road. So I just told him to keep his head up, I was proud of him, and told him I loved him.”

Jeffery, of course, was bummed and knew it was a crucial mistake, but the way the guys came alongside him to encourage him in that devastating moment was very significant for him moving forward.

My guess is most of us can relate to what it feels like to let others down or to drop the ball during a critical time. It’s easy to feel depressed, anxious, devastated, and isolated. However, it’s in these situations that encouragement from others is needed and we have to allow ourselves to receive it. We need that encouragement to carry us through.

Proverbs 12:25 (AMP) tells us, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good (encouraging) word makes it glad.”

We also need to step up and encourage others who are facing a disappointment or recovering from a mistake. They need to be reminded that they are loved, appreciated, and not defined by their “dropped pass.”

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV), “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

When we are filled with the love of God, encouragement should be part of the rhythm of our lives. By genuinely loving people, we are an encouragement to them.

1 Peter 4:8 (NLT) gives us an important reminder of this: “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

Today, let’s ask God to put someone on our minds in need of hearing an encouraging word. We are sure to find great joy in lifting someone up after a dropped pass!

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I desire to be an encourager and I pray You’d show me who to talk to and what to say. I pray others would feel Your love through me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.