Batman Gambit/Sports


 * The Miami Dolphins pulled this one off against division rivals New York Jets in what is known as the "Fake Spike Game." With only 22 seconds remaining in the clock, the Dolphins were out of timeouts and were down 21-24. The Dolphins reached the Jets 8-yard line. Quarterback Dan Marino seems to indicate that he was going to spike the ball to stop the clock and try a field goal that will tie the game and push for an overtime. Anticipating a spike, the Jets defense lined up haphazardly. Instead, Marino didn't spike the ball and with the Jets caught off guard, Marino passed the ball to wide-receiver Ingram for a touchdown. Because of the "fake spike," the Dolphins ended up winning the game 28-24 in regulation rather than pushing for overtime.
 * Most trick plays are a form of this. The play-action pass is a good example. Fake a hand-off to the runningback, expecting the defense to play as they should against the run: converge on the runningback. Meanwhile you, the quarterback, have all the time in the world to pass down the field. Like all true Batman Gambits, this can be ruined spectacularly. An all-out blitz can disrupt a play-action pass, as enough blitzers can get in the backfield to swallow BOTH the QB and RB, or the defenders see the hand-off as a fake and stick to their pass defending assignments.


 * The New England Patriots almost pull this off against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. Late in the fourth quarter, the New York Giants were running down the clock before scoring and taking the lead. With under a minute left in the game, Bill Belichick tells the defense to let the Giants score the touchdown, in order to give Tom Brady time to score a game winning touchdown. If not for his receivers dropping crucial passes, Tom Brady might have pulled it off.