Reception (American football)

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In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage and received (caught) by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. If such a pass is not caught by the receiver, it is called an incomplete pass or simply an incompletion.

A reception should not be confused with a lateral, also known as a lateral pass or backward pass, which occurs when the ball is thrown backwards or sideways to a teammate (that is, no part of the pass trajectory is toward the opponent's goal line).

[edit] See also

• Glossary of American football