drop the ball

An allusion to the rules of such games as baseball or football.

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drop the ball

1. (idiomatic) To fail in one's responsibilities or duties, or to make a mistake, especially at a critical point or when the result is very negative.
   • 1996 Dec. 13, Peter Stack, "Tom and ‘Jerry’ Make a Great Team" (film review of Jerry Maguire), San Francisco Chronicle (retrieved 21 Sept 2013):

     The movie ought to sputter out here, but Crowe and Cruise don't drop the ball.

• fall on one's face, fuck up, screw the pooch

• “drop the ball” in the Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.