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How does a center put the ball in play during an American football scrimmage?
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American football
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during Super Bowl LVII, 2023; the team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In American football, the center puts the ball in play during a scrimmage through an action known as the snap.1
To execute this, the center places the ball on the ground and then quickly passes it backward between their legs to a teammate, typically the quarterback. Once the ball is snapped, the quarterback may then hand it off, pass it to a receiver, or run with it to advance toward the opponent's goal line.213