The Two-Minute Drill in Retro Bowl: Clock, Sideline and When to Kick

What stops the clock

An incomplete pass stops it. A catch that ends out of bounds stops it. A catch in the middle of the field does not, and the game runs the clock between plays faster than you expect. With under two minutes left, every throw should either reach the sideline or reach the end zone.

Redraw the routes before the snap

Drag a receiver before you snap and his route changes. Pull two of them toward the sideline. You are not looking for a big play, you are looking for eight yards and a stopped clock, twice in a row.

The scramble is a timeout you did not have

If nobody is open, click to run with the quarterback and head for the sideline. A four-yard scramble out of bounds costs no time. A sack costs ten seconds and a down.

Know your kicker's range

Field goals from inside the 35-yard line are reliable with a decent kicker. From further out, the drag needs to be almost full and the angle exact. If you reach the 30 with fifteen seconds left, take the three points rather than one more throw.

Two minutes is a lot of Retro Bowl

Because a completed sideline pass costs so little time, a competent two-minute drill covers the whole field. Practise it in games you are already winning so it is automatic in games you are not.