Or the actor may fumble some of his lines in a group shot ; rather than discarding a good version of the shot, the director may just have the actor repeat the lines " in one " and cut to that solitary view when necessary.

* The defensive team may score two points on a point-after touchdown attempt by returning a blocked kick, fumble, or interception into the opposition's end zone.

Change of possession during a routine play may occur by interception or by fumble.

Unlike a forward pass, if a backward pass hits the ground or an official, play continues and, as with a fumble, a backward pass that has hit the ground may be recovered and advanced by either team.

A fumbled ball may be recovered and advanced by either team ( except, in American football, after the two-minute warning in either half or 4th down, when the fumbling player is the only offensive player allowed to advance the ball, otherwise the ball is ruled dead at the spot of recovery if the ball bounces backwards or spotted at the point of the fumble if the ball travels forward ).

Under American rules a fumble may be confused with a muff.

A fumble is credited to the last player who handled it from the possessing team, regardless of whether it may have been his fault or not.

Such impetus may be imparted by a kick, pass, fumble, or in certain instances by batting the ball.

However, because of the difficult coordination of motions it is often very challenging to properly execute the play, and this may lead to a fumble, sack, or lost yardage.

* " Live balls " and " Dead balls ": If a punted ball is touched after passing the line of scrimmage, even inadvertently, by a member of the receiving team it becomes a live ball and may be recovered as if a fumble by the kicking team.

Thus it is strategically important for kicking teams to get as close to the ball as possible after a punt, so that they may quickly tackle a returner, down the ball as close to the opposing team's end zone as possible, and ( if possible ) recover the ball after a fumble and regain possession of the ball.

Matches conducted along such lines are tremendously exciting, as a top shooter may fumble, pause or have a momentary equipment failure, allowing a lesser shooter to claim the round.

If an offensive player loses the ball during play ( a fumble ) or the ball is caught by a defensive player while still in the air ( an interception ), the defense may attempt to run into the offense's end zone for a touchdown.

For example, when a person attending a formal dinner – and who is certainly striving to present himself or herself positively – trips, nearby party-goers may pretend not to have seen the fumble ; they assist the person in maintaining face.

On defense, White continued to be a weapon, recording 29 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, and led the team with 8. 5 sacks.

A punted or place-kicked ball that touches any part of a player on the receiving team, whether or not the player ever gains control, is also considered to be live and is treated like a fumble.

The " fake fumble " is in fact a real one as far as the rules are concerned, and if the defense manages to get the ball, the coach's judgement is likely to be questioned by fans and media alike.

Chargers fans have referred to the play as the Immaculate Deception ever since, and after the 1978 season, the NFL instituted the current rule that a forward fumble in the last two minutes of play ( or on fourth down ) can only be recovered and / or advanced by the player who originally fumbled.

However, a wide receiver screen play is usually intended to be a forward pass so that if the receiver drops the ball it is an incomplete pass instead of a fumble.

If the ball was loose from a fumble, then the ball can be put into play at the spot of the fumble.

A touchdown pass called back by a penalty and Holmes ' third-quarter fumble, which set up a Colts ' field goal, turned out to be too much for the Chiefs to overcome.

* A touchback, not a safety, will also be ruled when a player fumbles the ball in his own end zone and the opponent is the one that knocks the fumble out of bounds in the end zone.

The Bears beat the Rams 24 – 0, and Marshall's fumble return for touchdown continues to be the highlight from that game most replayed.

* If an offensive player fumbles the ball in the field of play and it goes out of bounds in the opponent's end zone, the ball is given to the defensive team at the spot of the fumble ( this rule would be changed in 1991 to result in a touchback ).

Furthermore, since 2008, the center himself can execute the fumble and the ball will be live once the ball hits the ground.

This when the Eagles recovered ( Gill ) a fumble in overtime to be run back to the endzone.

* A hand-to-hand forward pass made behind the line of scrimmage that becomes incomplete ( hits the ground before it is caught ) is to be ruled as a fumble.

On the Patriots ' ensuing drive, Dent forced running back Craig James to fumble, which was recovered by Singletary at the 13-yard line.

But once again, the Steelers stopped them from scoring when Greene forced and recovered a fumble from Foreman.

Although Dallas recovered the fumble, they eventually were forced to punt.

Wright had an interception and forced a fumble.

Late in the third quarter, the Redskins had an opportunity to score after defensive back Anthony Washington forced and recovered a fumble from Branch at the Raiders 35-yard line.

Defensively ; while the Broncos managed to bottle up Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks had 14 tackles, 10 of which were unassisted and four of those for negative yardage, while Leonard Marshall had two sacks and forced a fumble.

After backup quarterback Gary Kubiak scored Denver's only touchdown with less than two minutes to go, the Bills then clinched the victory when defensive back Kirby Jackson forced and recovered a fumble from running back Steve Sewell on Denver's final drive of the game.

On the Bills ' first play of their next drive, Dallas defensive end Charles Haley sacked Kelly and forced a fumble.

Lett recorded a sack, a fumble recovery, and 2 forced fumbles.

Buffalo then forced Dallas to punt, but on the first play of the Bills ' ensuing possession Dallas safety James Washington forced Thomas to fumble and safety Darren Woodson recovered the ball at midfield.

Forty-five seconds into the third quarter, Leon Lett forced a Thurman Thomas fumble, which Washington returned 46 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

The Chargers had an excellent defensive line, anchored by Pro Bowl lineman Leslie O ' Neal, who led the team with 12. 5 sacks and forced four fumbles, Defensive tackle Chris Mims, who recorded 11 sacks, and Shawn Lee, who added 6. 5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

After New England was forced to punt, cornerback Otis Smith recovered a fumble from Jaguars running back James Stewart and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to put the game away.

With less than two minutes left in the first half, Warner completed a pass to receiver Ricky Proehl at the Rams 40-yard line, but New England defensive back Antwan Harris forced a fumble while tackling him, which was recovered by Patriots defensive back Terrell Buckley.

* A fumble going out-of-bounds in the endzone being attacked results in the defending team assuming possession via touchback if the offensive team forced the ball into the endzone.

* A fumble going out-of-bounds in the endzone being defended is ruled a safety if the offensive team forced the ball into the endzone.

* A fumble going out-of-bounds in the endzone being defended is ruled a touchback if the defensive team forced the ball into the endzone.

With Bulldogs leading 17 – 10 and in possession of the ball at the Gators ' two-yard line, Youngblood stood up Georgia back Ricky Lake short of the goal, forced a fumble and fell on the football.

On defense, Carolina's main strength was their defensive line, anchored by defensive ends Julius Peppers ( 7 sacks and 3 forced fumbles ) and Mike Rucker ( 12 sacks and 1 interception ), and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins ( 5 sacks and 1 fumble recovery ).

Behind them, the Patriots had 3 outstanding linebackers: Pro bowler Willie McGinest ( 5. 5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception ), Mike Vrabel ( 9. 5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, four forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions ), and Tedy Bruschi ( 131 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 3 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns ).

Sapp had 10 sacks to go along with 32 tackles ( 16 solo ) and one forced fumble.