---
slug: "double-move"
title: Double Move
depth_tier: entry
side: OFFENSE
category: Pass Game
source_id: "OFF-0059"
created: 2026-04-12
updated: 2026-04-19
canonical: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/double-move
---
# Double Move

## Short Definition

A route with a built-in fake break designed to turn the defender's hips before the receiver breaks to the real destination.

## Definition

A double move is a route with a built-in fake break designed to turn the defender's hips before the receiver continues to the actual destination. The receiver sells an initial break—an out cut, a slant angle, a short stop—then drives off that foot in the opposite or upfield direction while the defender is still reacting to the fake.

Common double moves include the post-corner (fake post, break to the corner), the corner-post (fake corner, break back to the post), the hitch-and-go (fake hitch stop, release vertical), and the out-and-up (fake out break, turn back upfield). In every case the first move is designed to commit the defender's weight and hips to the wrong direction before the real route develops.

Double moves require a patient quarterback. The route takes longer to develop than any single-break route, which means the pocket must hold longer. A quarterback who releases early on a double move throws to the fake, not the real destination. The receiver must also sell the first move convincingly—a halfhearted fake that doesn't move the defender defeats the entire purpose.

## Example

"Corner has been biting on out routes all game—the receiver feels it. He runs a crisp out at 12 yards, plants, and drives back upfield on the go. The corner's hips are turned out toward the sideline. He can't recover. The quarterback holds the ball one extra beat and drops it over the corner's outside shoulder. That's a double move converting pattern recognition into a touchdown."

## Common Confusion

Double move and route combination are different things. A route combination is two separate receivers running different routes together as a concept. A double move is one receiver running one route that contains two breaks—a fake followed by the real destination. The deception is entirely within a single route, not between routes.

## Related

- separation
- go-route
- corner-route
- post
- comeback-route

---
Source: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/double-move