A fake field goal is a

trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

. Simply, it involves a running or passing play done out of a kick formation. Usually the holder (often the punter or backup quarterback on most teams) will throw or run. Less frequently, the placekicker, who virtually never handles the ball in an American football game, will serve as the passer or rusher on a fake field goal. During a fake field goal, most teams will choose one of two different alignment options. The first one is out of the normal field goal formation. The holder receives the snap and can either pitch it to the kicker, throw it during a designed pass play, or run the ball themselves. The second option is to shift into a special formation. Out of these special formations, multiple plays can be brought to the field. There are a few of advantages to running a fake field goal or extra point. First, if it is a field goal, you have the chance to either score a touchdown or extend a drive for your team. If it is an extra point conversion, you have the chance of, instead of scoring just one point, scoring two points instead.

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and Punter (football), punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compas ...

was both

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and punter for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

in the 1980s and often executed this play. Examples include then-

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

kicker

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest ...

receiving a direct snap and throwing a touchdown pass during an NFL game in 2004, and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

kicker

Colt David Colt Justin David (born November 26, 1985) is a former American football placekicker who played one season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University and attended Gra ...

rushing for a 15-yard touchdown in 2007 after receiving the ball on a blind lateral from holder (and starting quarterback)

Matt Flynn Matthew Clayton Flynn (born June 20, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pitts ...

. Not every fake field goal play call results in an attempted trick play. In the Week 8 2014 game between the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers, the Colts staff had scouted through film study, that the Steelers usual kick block formation when the ball was close to the end zone and on the left hash mark, would not be able to prevent the holder from running the ball in for a touchdown. Such a situation developed with 1 second left on the clock in the 2nd half. But instead of lining up as normal,

Troy Polamalu Troy Aumua Polamalu (; born Troy Benjamin Aumua; April 19, 1981) is an American former football strong safety who played his entire 12-year career for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

, an 8 time defensive Pro-Bowl and 6 time All-Pro player, shifted from his usual position to the other side, filling the gap where holder Pat McAfee intended to run the ball. McAfee noticed this, and aborted the trick play, calling for

to make a normal kick, which he did, scoring 3 points to make the score 20 for the Colts to 35 to the Steelers.Pat McAfee's YouTube commentary
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References

{{American football strategy American football plays