Defenders biting on a pump fake is a pretty common sight in football games. But in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, we saw a defender bite on a strangely-timed pump fake.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson took a snap out of the shotgun and quickly fired the ball to his left, where receiver Jerry Jeudy was standing wide open. Jeudy caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage and was quickly approached by two Minnesota defenders. So it didn’t seem likely that he’d gain more than two or three yards. But Jeudy improvised.
As the two defenders closed in on Jeudy, the receiver went into a throwing stance. While Jeudy was not yet beyond the line of scrimmage, the throw from Wilson was clearly a forward pass. So Jeudy was not throwing the ball — at least not legally. Despite that, Josh Metellus bit hard on the fake, leaving his feet. That gave Jeudy some room to run and left him one-on-one with Mekhi Blackmon. Blackmon did make the tackle, but not before Jeudy picked up nine yards.
Has Cris Collinsworth ever enjoyed a play more than this one?pic.twitter.com/pxmZDsxTod
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 20, 2023
The play cracked Jeudy up and he was not alone. Football fans found a lot of humor with Jeudy’s successful fake.
Jeudy should fake throw it every play!!!!!!!
— ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) November 20, 2023
https://twitter.com/TSV__1/status/1726442913637499006
Jerry Jeudy pump fake 3 yards down the field is hilarious 😂
— Matt King (@BetWithMatt_) November 20, 2023
Did Jeudy just fake a pass three yards past the LOS?
Awesome.
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) November 20, 2023
Jeudy’s pump fake is killin me 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/ZpXxXyVPeV
— Scotty Gange (@Scotty_G6) November 20, 2023
[Photo Credit: NBC]
