But as much as Utah was playing for a spot in the playoffs, Los Angeles — which fell to 4-10 — had the same motivation.

The Avengers, also entering the game with four wins and needing a victory on Monday to secure a spot in the AFL playoffs, took advantage of their own onside kick recovery in the second quarter to erase a 21-20 Utah lead and take a 30-21 lead with less than a minute left in the half.

Utah, trailing 50-45 in the fourth quarter, was backed up to the 1-yard line on fourth down and was in all sorts of trouble when the Avengers were flagged for three penalties on the Blaze's "Hail Mary" pass attempt to JJ McKelvey. The resulting first down gave Utah a shot of momentum as the Blaze marched down the field and reclaimed the lead when Huey Whitaker hauled in a 5-yard pass with 6:12 to play.

The Blaze tried a 2-point conversion, hoping for a 3-point lead, but the play went nowhere and Utah had to settle for a 51-50 edge.

That set up the fourth-down heroics by Mason, giving Utah the ball, the momentum and time with which to work.

"We told Eddie to be patient," Mason said of the play. "We knew they had to go long and I was just trailing the play like we're supposed to. Eddie held him up and all of a sudden the ball popped out. I grabbed it and just kind of took off."

That break was the key in Utah's playoff-clinching win.

"We got a break," Germaine said. "It was only a matter of time before (our defense would) make it happen there."

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