In 2003, Grant Taylor (Alex Kendrick) is the head football coach of the Shiloh Christian Academy Eagles, which has yet to make the state playoffs or even post a winning record in his six-year tenure. After his seventh season begins with a three-game losing streak, a key player leaves for another school, and the remaining players’ fathers begin to agitate for his firing. This is not the only problem Grant faces; his home has an unidentifiable awful smell, his appliances are breaking down, and his car is an unreliable embarrassment. Then, crushingly, he learns that he is the reason that his wife, Brooke, cannot become pregnant.
Suffering intense emotional turmoil, Grant stays up all night praying and studying scripture. Finally, his old football coach inspires him to create a new coaching philosophy, which praises God regardless of on-field results. At the same time he influences his players to give far greater effort and tells them they can win under God’s guidance. The improved attitudes of his players influence the rest of the school. From then on, the Eagles win all their remaining regular season games and qualify for the state playoffs.
