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Faking it is sometimes the right thing to do. NFL Gamepass

Analysis: The Washington sleight of hand that gave them a much-needed NFL win

It wasn’t a pretty win, but Washington head coach Jay Gruden showed a lot of nerve against the Giants.

ON SUNDAY EVENING, NFC East rivals Washington and New York went head-to-head in what was an exciting — if error-strewn — game.

Ultimately, it was Washington that came out on top in a 29-27 victory, helped in large part by a gutsy play call late in the third quarter when they were still trailing 23-24.

On 4th and 12, after Kirk Cousins was sacked for a loss of eight yards the play before, Washington lined up in punt formation but they’d no intention of kicking the ball away.

If you didn’t see it, here’s how it looked it on TV:

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Pre-snap read: Offence

Washington are in their standard punt formation with two gunners out wide — Quinton Dunbar (yellow) being the key — and three personal protectors whose job it is to help slow down the defending team trying to get at the punter.

The role of the gunners is to chase down the kick and ensure minimal, or no, return.

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The punter in this case is Tress Way (red), a 26-year-old out of Oklahoma who went undrafted in 2013 before being picked up by the Chicago Bears that year and signing with Washington the following season.

Pre-snap read: defence

The Giants are in a punt return formation called 53 ‘eight man’ (left) which means they are overloading one side of the line.

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As you can see, the 53 stands for the fact there are five players on one side (the left) and three on the other, while the eight refers to the fact there eight men in the box and, therefore, only two jammers – Trevin Wade (orange) being the key — with Dwayne Harris (off camera) back to return the punt.

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At the snap

Credit Tress Way here. He really sells the punt waiting a full two seconds to throw the ball and reading the defence to see if either receiver can get open.

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Dunbar is a former wide receiver who only converted to defensive back last season and his ability to perform a juke move off the line gives him separation from Wade and makes him Way’s only real option on the play.

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What happens next?

Way’s pass is very, very good, especially as he’s not one of these punters/kicker who maybe played high school quarterback.

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Dunbar also does really well to make the catch as Wade is holding on to his jersey most of the way — as he is allowed to do on this kind of play — and makes a nice diving grab to haul in the 31-yard pass.

Notes

This particular fake punt is called ‘Puma’ in the Washington playbook and Way and long-snapper Nick Sundberg have been practising it for over a year without ever putting it into action.

It almost very nearly didn’t happen too. Had Kirk Cousins not taken the sack to drop them back to their own 48-yard line, the coaching staff would probably have called for a quick ‘pooch punt’ as the stats show — according to Way himself — that 98% of them result in fair catches with the Giants pinned deep in their own half.

It didn’t work out that way and Dustin Hopkins 25-yard effort would prove vital in the narrow win.

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3 Comments
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    Mute Kieran Campbell
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:55 PM

    You have to 100% believe you can and will win every match when you take to the field, regardless of the opposition.

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    Mute Seán Pól O'Finn
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    Apr 24th 2015, 3:37 PM

    This has all the makings of a great game sickened I’m going to miss it!

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    Mute Julian
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    Apr 24th 2015, 8:49 PM

    Not convinced by Carty!! Hasn’t been getting the basics right, very frustrating to watch. Really hope Connacht pull off a big upset tomorrow!!!

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    Mute Philip
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:08 PM

    Is mils injured?

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    Mute #COYBIB
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:21 PM

    I’m not sure, but unfortunately he wouldn’t be good enough to get into that Connacht team. He’s been very disappointing in terms of playing standard since arriving, but I have no doubt that is offset by all the things he offers off the field.

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    Mute Peter Slattery
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:35 PM

    Yeah, he’s out for the rest of the season, iirc.

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    Mute Shane O'Donnell
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:36 PM

    I’ve plenty of doubt about his off field influence justifying his colossal wage bill.

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    Mute Jack Strong
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    Apr 24th 2015, 3:09 PM

    Are Welsh police still investigating him or what’s the story there?

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    Mute Dead Ball Browne
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    Apr 25th 2015, 12:29 AM

    A bad call by Connought for Mils.
    Lots of €€€€€ for no return. The mentor crap is only a smokescreen… Got nobbled here..

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