HOSS Y-Juke
And How the Patriots Used it to Win Their 6th Super Bowl
“HOSS Y-Juke” or “HOSS Juke” is a play that the Patriots made famous during their dynastic run. It’s a concept utilized out of an empty formation, which means there are 5 routes attacking the defense.
Those routes are hitches on the outside and seams inside (“HOSS”). The “Juke” route is generally run by the #3 receiver, who has a lot of options for what he can do over the middle based on the coverage.
You can see the concept illustrated below:
The play itself has a ton of answers for the quarterback. The outside receivers can convert to go-routes against any type of press coverage or sitting corners. The seams can be run upfield vs. single-high or bend inside vs split-safety looks. Against Tampa-2, they can convert to curls.
The receiver running the juke route in the middle will react based on his defender’s leverage, either taking it inside or outside. Against Tampa-2 or if he’s uncovered, he can sit in the coverage void.
It’s a great play to run against just about any defense. And depending on how the offense distributes its personnel, there are always opportunities for the quarterback to just take his favorite matchup anywhere based on how the defense responds.
Often times, that’ll be the juke since he has more options for how to run his route and because he’ll often be matched up against the Mike linebacker whether in man or zone. As you’ll see on the examples below, that’s not a fair fight.
Probably the best example of how effective this play can be was in Super Bowl LIII between the Patriots and Rams.
New England didn’t piss a drop all game on offense, and if not for one of the best defensive performances in Super Bowl history, they likely would have lost this game. But with the score tied at 3, under 10 minutes remaining, and really nothing working, New England called it 3 straight times on what would ultimately be the game-winning touchdown drive.
The way New England used their personnel was brilliant and put the Rams defense on its heels. The Patriots came out in “22” personnel (2 RBs, 2 TEs) with just 1 wide receiver on all 3 plays. That forced the defense to use their base personnel and bring more linebackers onto the field.
Then the Pats spread them out with empty formations.
Each time, they dressed up the play with a slight variation to the formation. Running back Rex Burkhead motioned out of the backfield on the first two plays and Julian Edelman motioned across the formation on the third. They also flipped the formation from the first snap to the next two to keep the Rams from anticipating identical plays.
Ultimately, Burkhead and fullback James Develin were the outside receivers to either side each time:
On a night where Rams Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’s disguises were giving Brady and the Patriots problems, this approach allowed New England to know what the coverage was pre-snap.
On this first play, it was clear that the Rams were in zone because cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, L.A.’s best coverage defenders, were aligned over Burkhead and Develin, a running back and a fullback. Inside, the Rams were left with a linebacker (Cory Littleton) on the only receiver on the field, Julian Edelman: