line of scrimmage
noun phrase
: an imaginary line in football that is parallel to the goal lines and tangent to the nose of the ball laid on the ground and marks the position of the ball at the start of each down
Examples of line of scrimmage in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Saw a stat showing that 40 percent of his passes last season were thrown short, at or behind the line of scrimmage, in his seven wins.
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Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024
For the Ravens, Lamar Jackson is just 5-for-12 passing for 67 yards — with one of those completions to himself on a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage.
—Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024
Among other things, the alignment allowed coaches to position a linebacker either in the middle of the field or on the line of scrimmage.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2024
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Kelly bounced back from a rough 2022 campaign to establish himself as one of the AFC's best centers once again, earning his fourth Pro Bowl nod after earning those honors in three straight seasons from 2019 to 2021.
—The Indianapolis Star, 30 Jan. 2024
Chandler Martin, Memphis (Liberty): Martin had eight tackles — five behind the line of scrimmage — and one sack in Memphis’ 36-26 triumph over Iowa State.
—Steve Megargee, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
San Francisco controlled the line of scrimmage in the first half, rushing Mahomes and hemming him in the pocket.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024
But almost everything for the 49ers starts near the line of scrimmage.
—Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2024
While San Francisco has an offense filled with playmakers like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, Kittle's ability to make big plays down the field in the passing game and dominate on the line of scrimmage as a blocker in the run game is a major part of the success.
—Josh Dubow, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024
Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024
For the Ravens, Lamar Jackson is just 5-for-12 passing for 67 yards — with one of those completions to himself on a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage.
—Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024
Among other things, the alignment allowed coaches to position a linebacker either in the middle of the field or on the line of scrimmage.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2024
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Kelly bounced back from a rough 2022 campaign to establish himself as one of the AFC's best centers once again, earning his fourth Pro Bowl nod after earning those honors in three straight seasons from 2019 to 2021.
—The Indianapolis Star, 30 Jan. 2024
Chandler Martin, Memphis (Liberty): Martin had eight tackles — five behind the line of scrimmage — and one sack in Memphis’ 36-26 triumph over Iowa State.
—Steve Megargee, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
San Francisco controlled the line of scrimmage in the first half, rushing Mahomes and hemming him in the pocket.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024
But almost everything for the 49ers starts near the line of scrimmage.
—Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2024
While San Francisco has an offense filled with playmakers like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, Kittle's ability to make big plays down the field in the passing game and dominate on the line of scrimmage as a blocker in the run game is a major part of the success.
—Josh Dubow, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'line of scrimmage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near line of scrimmage
Cite this Entry
“Line of scrimmage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/line%20of%20scrimmage. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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