Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tricky Chiefs recall NFL gadget plays
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s 56-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first half Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys was perhaps the best play of the 2017 NFL season so far.
Hill took a toss from quarterback Alex Smith at the Cowboys’ 42 and ran toward the goal line with three blockers in front. He went around Orlando Scandrick at the 25, cut behind two blocks from Demarcus Robinson inside the 10 and sidestepped overpursuing linebacker Anthony Hitchens to finish the touchdown.
However, Dallas went on to defeat Kansas City 28-17.
The Chiefs’ end-of-half touchdown allowed The Associated Press to take a look at some of the NFL’s most successful trick plays:
■ MUSIC CITY MIRACLE The Titans called the play Home Run Throw Back and practiced it at Saturday walk-throughs closed to reporters. They pulled out the play Jan. 8, 2000, against the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild-card game. Lorenzo Neal fielded the kickoff and handed the ball to tight end Frank Wycheck, who threw a lateral back across the field to Kevin Dyson. He went up the sideline for the winning touchdown in a 22-16 victory. That play sparked the Titans’ run to their lone Super Bowl.
■ MARINO’S FAKE SPIKE Miami quarterback Dan Marino fooled everybody. Well, almost everybody on Nov. 27, 1994. The Dolphins needed a touchdown with the clock running out, and the Dolphins sprinted to line up, with Marino yelling, “Clock, clock, clock.” Marino faked spiking the ball to stop the clock, only to hit Mark Ingram with a touchdown pass for a 28-24 victory.
■ FAKE SPIKE AND RUN Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford topped Marino by taking the ball in himself against Dallas on Oct. 27, 2013. With the clocking ticking down, Stafford ran toward the line of scrimmage motioning to his teammates. The instant the ball was snapped, Stafford kept it and went up and over the goal line for the touchdown in a 31-30 victory.
Too revealing
The draw ceremony for the Next Gen Finals was supposed to highlight Milan’s status in the fashion industry.
Instead, the ATP was accused of being sexist.
Female models provocatively revealed the letters A or B when they were picked by the male tennis players. One model pulled up her dress to reveal an A on her thigh.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo tweeted, “Disgrace,” and Andy Murray’s mother, Judy, added, “Awful.”
A day after the ceremony, the ATP and tournament sponsor Red Bull apologized Monday. ATP executive chairman and president Chris Kermode said at a prescheduled news conference for the tournament that in no way was the draw meant to be offensive and that the intention was to mix the heritage of Milan and the fashion world.
The Next Gen Finals begin today in Milan and features the top seven 21-and-under players in the rankings plus one Italian wild card. The top seeds are Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.
Top qualifier Alexander Zverev withdrew to focus on the elite ATP Finals next week in London.
Rublev, Denis Shapovalov, Chung Hyeon and Gianluigi Quinzi were drawn in Group A. Group B features Khachanov, Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson and Daniil Medvedev.