All situationsPart of: Third-Down Football: The Down That Wins Games

Goal Line Concepts

Inside the 5, plays change. The 5-6 calls that score from the goal line and why each one works.

Goal line is its own game. The defense brings extra bodies, the QB has 5 yards of field instead of 100, and every play has to either score in two seconds or take a sack.

QB sneak / tush push: the highest-percentage scoring play in football. Inside the 1, defenses can't legally stop it.

Fade to the boundary WR: the corner route variant scaled down. Outside leverage CB, ball thrown to the back-shoulder pylon. 50/50 throws but the geometry favors the bigger receiver.

Pick concept from a stack: two receivers crossing 2-3 yards from the line, natural rub that frees one. Inside the 5, the rub doesn't even have to be perfect — a half-step is the score.

Mesh from condensed sets: two crossers from compressed splits at 3 yards. Same idea as pick but with both receivers in motion, harder for the defense to communicate.

Naked bootleg: the QB rolls out after a play-fake, with one TE and one back as routes. The defense's commitment to the run gives the QB an outside-running lane and a 3-yard option throw. Used 1-2 times per goal-line series in modern offenses.

Vaults that go deep on goal line concepts

Vaults whose cuts are tagged with: goal-line, sneak, fade, pick, bootleg.

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