5 Greatest Trick Plays in NFL History
A trick play in the game of football is a special moment.
You never know when you might see one and teams have endless possibilities to try and be creative to fool the opposition.
Here are five of the best the NFL has ever seen:
The Trick Punt Return
The St. Louis Rams executed the art of deception perfectly on this brilliant punt return from 2014.
Tavon Austin mimicked a fair catch on the right side of the field, while all of the Rams blockers appeared to be setting up to block. The entire Seattle Seahawks cover unit headed in that direction but there was one problem, Jon Ryan's kick went to the left.
Stedman Bailey easily scooped it up and went untouched for a 90-yard touchdown.
The Hook and Lateral
This classic was displayed by the 1981 Miami Dolphins in a playoff game against the San Diego Chargers.
Sensing his team needed a spark down 14 just before the half, Don Shula dug into his bag of tricks. Quarterback Don Strock found Duriel Harris on a curl route, who then flipped it back to an oncoming Tony Nathan. The play worked so well that Nathan was able to celebrate 20 yards from the end zone.
The Chargers had the last laugh, though. Kellen Winslow, despite nearing exhaustion, heroically made 13 catches for 166 yards to give San Diego a 41-38 overtime win.
The Reverse Pass
A reverse is tricky enough on its own, but throw a pass into the equation and it's a whole new can of worms.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were confident enough to try it in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks, probably because they had college quarterback Antwaan Randle El playing receiver. Randle El found Hines Ward with a perfect throw for a 43-yard touchdown.
Seattle never recovered and Pittsburgh claimed another championship.
The Fake Spike
Faking a spike is almost common place these days, but at one point it was a revolutionary idea.
Dan Marino was willing to take the risk in a 1994 game against the New York Jets. With the Dolphins trailing 24-6 in the third quarter, Miami staged a furious comeback to cut the deficit to three points with 30 seconds left. As the clock ran at the Jets' 8-yard line, Marino signaled to the offense he was going to spike the ball.
Only receiver Mark Ingram knew what was up, and Marino hit him for an easy score in the corner of the end zone.
The Music City Miracle
Perhaps the most controversial of all the trick plays, the Music City Miracle is still debated today.
After the Buffalo Bills went ahead on a late Steve Christie field goal in a 2000 wild card game, it looked like the Tennessee Titans were done. However, the Bills still had to kickoff and the Titans were ready. Lorenzo Neal fielded the short boot and handed to Frank Wycheck, who in turn threw it across the field to Kevin Dyson.
Dyson coolly waltzed into the end zone as Bills supporters still contend Wycheck's pass was not a lateral, but a forward pass. The play stood and the Bill haven't seen the playoffs since.