The term 'dropped the ball' is a metaphor for making a mistake or failing to do something. The crossword solutions for this term are 'fumbled' (7 letters), 'ERRED' (5 letters), and 'blew it' (6 letters). Fumbled means to make a mistake or mishandle something, ERRED means to make a mistake or be wrong, and blew it means to make a mistake or fail to do something. All three of these words can be used to describe the same concept of dropping the ball.