A fake spike 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 ...

. When the clock is running low, it is not uncommon for a quarterback to

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

the ball to stop the clock, either to set up for the next play or bring on the

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Here though, the objective is to trick the defense into believing that no downfield play will be run. A famous example occurred in 1994 with the Clock Play, when the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

were playing the New York Jets; Dan Marino was attempting to drive for the winning score as quarterback for Miami. From the account of

Pat Kirwan Pat Kirwan is a former American football coach. He began his NFL career in 1972 after coaching high school and college football. He was an area scout for the Phoenix Cardinals (1989) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1983–86). He spent eight years ...

, former Jets defensive coach and executive, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts was also a frequent user of the fake spike, and "sold it" so well in a 2001 game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

that the referee

Jeff Triplette Jeff Triplette (born March 12, 1951) is a retired American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1996 season through the 2017 season. He wore uniform number 42. Personal life Triplette is a retired Army Reserve col ...

blew the whistle to stop the play, costing the Colts a probable touchdown. Another example of the play occurred in 2022. The

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

were driving with less than two minutes remaining against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and their quarterback

Jacoby Brissett Jacoby Jajuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Following a college football stint with Florida, he played at NC State and was selected in the t ...

hesitated for a moment, seemingly ready to fake spike and throw to a receiver before he spiked the ball with thirteen seconds left at the 40-yard line. The next play, Cleveland kicked a successful field goal from 58 yards out to win the game 26-24. It was pointed out after the game that the play likely violated Rule 8, Section 2, Article 1, Item 4 of the NFL rulebook, which states that a player cannot spike the ball after "delaying his passing action". The penalty of intentional grounding for spiking the ball after delaying their motion to spike it is a 10-yard penalty with a 10-second runoff; the referee stated after the game that the stepback by Brisett did not constitute a delayed motion (the referees had thrown a flag on the field after the spike but stated there was no foul).

References

{{American football strategy American football plays