NFL's Newest Treat: Trick Plays

Sunday’s four-touchdown performance from Miami running back Ronnie Brown may signal the year of the trick play in the NFL, USA Today reports. The Dolphins’ “Wildcat” formation, in which the running back takes a direct snap, seems likely to catch on. “This is a copycat league,” says San Diego’s LaDanian Tomlinson. “When teams start having success with something, you're going to see more of it.”

Oakland twice ran direct snaps against Buffalo on Sunday, only to have the Bills return with two of their own. Chicago even had running back Garrett Wolfe take a snap from punt formation. “It was like college with all these trick plays,” one analyst said. How will the league react? “I think we better be ready to defend it,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. (More NFL stories.)