A double pass 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 a ...

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

. A double pass is a backward pass followed by a second pass thrown downfield. The play starts with the quarterback throwing backward pass, generally overhand, to an eligible player. That player then throws a forward pass downfield to a third player. A variation of the play has the second downfield pass caught by the quarterback, who leaks out after throwing the initial pass. This often works well, because of the likelihood of the player being uncovered, as normally quarterbacks rarely run pass patterns. Despite having a relatively high success rate, the double pass is considered one of the riskiest types of plays in football because the first pass must be a backward pass, and if a backward pass is dropped, it is a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

(which may be recovered by the defending team) rather than an

incomplete pass An incomplete pass is a term in gridiron football which means that a legal forward pass is not successfully caught by an eligible offensive player within the field of play. An incomplete pass can occur if (1) the ball hits the ground in the field ...

(which stops play). A contemporary example of this play being successfully executed comes from the regular season game between

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

and

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

on September 17, 2022, in which Oklahoma tight end Brayden Willis caught a backward pass from the quarterback, then made a forward pass to a third player, who received it for a touchdown against Nebraska.

References

{{American football strategy American football plays