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In American football a lateral pass or lateral, officially referred to as a backward pass, and an "onside pass" in Canadian football; is a sideways or rearward throwing of the football to a teammate. The pass cannot itself advance the ball, though of course the receiver can advance after catching it. This is distinguished from a forward pass, which moves the ball in the direction of the opponent's end line. The rules allow forward passes to be thrown only from behind the line of scrimmage. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Diagram of a Canadian football field. ... This article is about a type of football play. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Restrictions

There are no restrictions on the use of backward passes. Any number of backward passes may be thrown in a given play. Any player may throw a backward passes from any position on the field to any other player. If the backward pass is complete and the receiver is behind the line of scrimmage, the receiver may in turn throw a forward pass. If the defensive team takes possession of the ball, they may also freely throw backward passes, but not forward passes.

Differences

Unlike a forward pass, if a backward pass hits the ground or an official, play continues. Like a fumble, a backward pass that has hit the ground may be recovered by either side. In NFL rules a backward pass other than the snap, if muffed by a receiver before it first touches the ground the ball becomes dead if an opponent recovers it after it touches the ground . Look up fumble in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Alternate uses

The oxymoron "forward lateral" is used to describe a "lateral" (backward pass) that actually went forward.

A variant, the hook and lateral, where a forward pass is immediately passed backward to a second receiver to fool the defense, is used on occasion. The hook and ladder or hook and lateral is a trick play in American football. ...

In college football, the backward pass is used more extensively than in professional football, more in the same manner as is done in the two different sports of rugby union and rugby league. A college football game between Colorado State and Air Force. ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... Wally Lewis passing the ball in Rugby League State of Origin. ...

Famous plays in history

One famous college play involving the backward passes is simply known as The Play. In the 1982 Big Game between Stanford and University of California, Berkeley (also known as California or Cal), with four seconds left and trailing by one point, Cal ran the ball back on a kickoff all the way for the game-winning touchdown using five backward passes, eventually running through the Stanford Band who had already taken the field (assuming that the game was already over). The Play refers to a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the University of California, Berkeley (California or Cal) Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal on November 20, 1982. ... The Big Game is the annual football game between Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley (known simply as Cal), held in November. ... Stanford may refer: Stanford University Places: Stanford, Kentucky Stanford, California, home of Stanford University Stanford Shopping Center Stanford, New York, town in Dutchess County. ... Sather tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ... A beginning: the kickoff of the project This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

A well-known NFL lateral pass occurred during the Music City Miracle play at the end of the 2000 playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills. The Music City Miracle is a famous play in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs involving the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills that took place on January 8, 2000 (following the 1999 regular season) at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Buffalo Bills (disambiguation). ...

Another well known backward pass in the NFL was the River City Relay, which was when the New Orleans Saints faced the Jacksonville Jaguars. With time winding down the Saints thew backward passes and brought it all the way down the field for a touchdown, and then the unthinkable happened: kicker John Carney missed the potentially game-tying extra point for the Saints, and the Saints lost 20–19. NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... The River City Relay is a famous play in a National Football League game involving the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars that took place on December 21, 2003 in Jacksonville, Florida. ... City New Orleans, Louisiana Team colors Old Gold, Black, and White Head Coach Sean Payton Owner Tom Benson and Rita Benson LeBlanc General manager Mickey Loomis Mascot Gumbo the dog League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1967–present) Eastern Conference (1967-1969) Capitol Division (1967; 1969) Century Division (1968) National... City Jacksonville, Florida Team colors Teal, Black, White, and Gold Head Coach Jack Del Rio Owner Wayne Weaver General manager James Harris Mascot Jaxson de Ville League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1995–present) American Football Conference (1995-present) AFC Central (1995-2001) AFC South (2002-present) Team history Jacksonville... Texas Longhorn quarterback Vince Young (center top of picture, now with the Tennessee Titans) charging ahead for a touchdown vs Colorado in the 2005 Big 12 Conference college football championship game. ... An amateur place kicker attempts to kick a field goal Placekicker, or simply Kicker, is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points, and, in many cases, kickoffs. ... John Michael Carney (born April 4, 1964 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American football placekicker. ... In American football, the extra point, point after touchdown, or PAT is the act of lining up to kick, as in a field goal, immediately following a touchdown. ...

On October 27, 2007, trailing by two points with two seconds left in a game against Millsaps College, Division III team Trinity University called a play for a short pass across the middle. The receiver pitched the ball backward, with a sequence of additional backward passes as players were in danger of being tackled. The "Mississippi Miracle" ultimately included 15 backward passes as it covered 60 yards for the winning touchdown. ^[1] is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi, supported by the United Methodist Church. ... Trinity University is an independent, primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences university in San Antonio, Texas. ...

References