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Jets' Mike LaFleur Breaks Down Lateral Trick Play That Stunned Dolphins

New York Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur broke down the trick play with a lateral from Jamison Crowder to Braxton Berrios against the Miami Dolphins.

Max Goodman

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Mike LaFleur has called several trick plays on offense this season, but with two minutes remaining in the first half last Sunday, the offensive coordinator dug deeper into his bag of tricks than he ever has before.

On a third and 15, quarterback Zach Wilson fired a quick pass to Jamison Crowder, who ran a five-yard crossing route on the left hash. Instead of turning to try and run for the first down, with three Dolphins defenders starting to close in, Crowder wound up and threw a pass back to Braxton Berrios on the far sideline.

Berrios snagged the lateral one yard in front of the line of scrimmage, bolting upfield and scampering 22 yards for a first down. 

The drive resulted in a punt, leading to a collapse in the second half, but LaFleur's magnificent play design left a lasting impression.

Addressing the media for the first time since Sunday's loss, LaFleur was asked about the play. The first-year coordinator revealed that New York has had that call in their playbook since the last time New York and Miami faced off back in Week 11.

"The reason you can call those kind of plays is you have a guy like Jamison Crowder and Braxton Berrios that we have so much trust in," LaFleur told reporters. "So even if it wasn't going to be perfect, which there were a lot of looks that were not going to be perfect ... just putting the ball in Jamison Crowder's hands, usually something good is going to happen. 

LaFleur also confirmed that New York's first touchdown of the game—a two-yard run from Berrios—was also supposed to be a double pass. It looked like Crowder was the intended receiver, but he fell as he cut back toward the sideline.

"There was a run-pass option," he said. "Like 'hey, Brax, if it doesn't look good, just go make a play.' And he did. That's those guys just out there executing."

It's one thing to design one of those plays and pitch it to the coaching staff in meetings, but to execute between the lines is a testament to this team's sneaky ability to mix in trick plays.

Heck, we even saw a double pass from Berrios back to Wilson in that same quarter last Sunday. Wilson evaded some tacklers before finding tight end Ryan Griffin wide open for a huge gain.

All of it comes back to the trust that LaFleur has in the veteran playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. Without that trust, odds are LaFleur keeps his trick plays (that he initially came up with in high school gym class) locked away.

"I think he's done a good job keeping defenses on their toes," Wilson said this week. "Really just putting us in good situations and I feel like putting me in a good situation as far as just being able to play fast and get used to his offense and this game. I really appreciate what he's been doing, I think he's done a really good job."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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