Gauntlet 2.9 - Hotlanta

Gauntlet : Hotlanta
Genre : Sports / Drama
Showrunner: Antoine Fuqua
Writer : Matt Parker

Cast: William Fichtner, Josh Duhamel, Trevor Jackson, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jared Keeso, Eric Roberts, Corey Hawkins, Kat Graham, Saffron Burrows and Tom Wright

Plot: As the Memphis Pharaohs get ready to the field in Atlanta to take on the Argonauts, the team's owner Leonard Palmer (Eric Roberts) is back in Memphis hosting a fundraiser for gubernatorial candidate and current Memphis mayor Sharon Matthews (Saffron Burrows). He shakes her hand and talks to her about how an event with his wealthy friends should put her well ahead of her friends in the fundraising department. Sharon thanks Palmer for hosting the event, and Palmer says that he looks forward to her assistance in building the Pharaohs a new stadium along the Memphis waterfront.

Coach Ken Heath (William Fichtner) asks offensive coordinator Stan Swift (Jared Keeso) to call the plays from the booth while he has the new quarterbacks coach and current backup quarterback Tim Collins (Josh Duhamel) work with quarterback Alex Wright (Patrick Schwarzenegger) on the sidelines.

Jefferson Thomas (Trevor Jackson) is watching the game from home while he works out. Nikki (Kat Graham) tries not to talk to him about the game since she can tell he's bothered by not being with the team at the game.

On the field in Atlanta, quarterback Alex Wright tries to hit a wide open DeAndre Colson (Corey Hawkins) with a pass but overthrows it for an interception. When Wright gets back to the sideline, Collins pulls him aside and shows him what the defense is doing on a tablet. Collins shows that the defense is sagging back on Colson to defend the deep ball.

Coach Heath is talking to Swift over the headset telling Swift that they should be calling some short passes with how much space they are giving Colson near the line of scrimmage. Swift says they have the best deep threat in the league, so that is how they should be using him. Heath says that is what the Argonauts defense is expecting them to do. On the team's next offensive possession, Wright sees the defense much more clearly and can tell that they are expecting the deep ball to Colson. Swift's ego gets the best of him and he calls a play that has Colson running a deep slant play, but taking the information Collins gave him on the sideline Wright calls an audible at the line. Wright takes the snap and hits Colson on a WR screen pass. With the nearest defender five yards away, Colson has enough room to build up some speed and evade the defender. He then takes the ball all the way to the end zone. After Wright makes it back to the bench, Coach Heath tells Wright that he made a good call on that play.

Without a legitimate running back for the game, the Pharaohs pass the ball a lot more than usual, with Wright looking worth the first round pick the team spend on him. The Pharaohs end up winning the game 30-24 on the road. After the game, Heath commends Collins for his work with Wright on the sideline, suggesting he may have a very real coaching career ahead of him.

That night, after the Pharaohs team plane lands back in Memphis, Coach Heath is notified that the police have decided not to pursue charges against Jefferson Thomas regarding the night club incident. Coach Heath contacts the league's commissioner Vernon Wallace (Tom Wright) to talk about the league's investigation regarding the matter. Wallace tells Heath that the league is satisfied with the police's conclusion that the incident is not worth pursuing as a criminal case and that they feel that the one game Thomas just missed is a satisfactory disciplinary action against him. Heath thanks the commissioner for his time.

At home, Jefferson Thomas hears on the news that the police are dropping the matter of the night club incident. He gives Nikki a hug. He then receives a call from Coach Heath, who tells him that he looks forward to having Thomas back with the team come practice Tuesday morning and for their next game on Sunday.