Alabama Football: Five times defense slammed the door on Texas A&M

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(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

4. Alabama Football: Relentless pass rush gets the Tide two

Despite the Tide offense stalling due to pre-snap penalties, Braswell’s block helped to flip the field. The next time Max Johnson and the A&M offense took the field, they were buried inside their own 20-yard line.

By this point in the contest, the Alabama pass rush had gained momentum and completely taken over the game.

In a matter of two plays, the A&M drive went backwards into its own end zone. Johnson was sacked on first down when his offensive line was literally run over by interior linemen Jaheim Oatis and Tim Keenan III.

He was swallowed up again on the following play when senior defensive end Justin Eboigbe bullied his assigned blocker and dropped the quarterback before he had a chance to go through his progressions. Johnson tried to ditch the ball at the last second, but was flagged for intentional grounding and the safety could not be avoided.

This was a huge play, considering the Alabama offense struggled to move the ball throughout the fourth quarter.

The defensive score gave the Tide a two-possession lead and the ball late in the fourth quarter.