A play-action pass is a type of American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 play. The play action, or "PA" for short, appears to be a running play, but is actually a pass play; in this way, it can be considered the opposite of a draw play

Draw play

A draw play, or simply draw for short, is a type of American football play. The draw appears to be a passing play, but is actually a running play; in this way, it can be considered the opposite of the play action pass. The idea behind a draw play is to attack aggressive, pass-rushing defenses by...

. Play-action passes are often used against defenses that are presently focused on stopping the run. By simulating as if the play is initially a running play, the offense attempts to deceive the defense into acting on the fake run and being out of position in their pass coverage, giving receivers more time and room to get open behind the linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

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Offensive action during a play-action pass

• The quarterback takes the snap and drops back to hand off to the running back.
• The running back gets ready to take the handoff.
• The quarterback quickly pulls the ball back from the handoff position, trying to hide it from the defense. He then looks down-field for an open receiver.
• The running back continues to move upfield as if he has the ball in his hands.
• The offensive line comes off the ball to run block, but goes into pass protection soon afterward.
• The receivers "sell" the running play by appearing to block at first, then break off into their routes.