A reception in football refers to a passing play in which a player in bounds successfully catches a forward pass thrown from a friendly quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. The player who catches the ball is called the receiver, and after making the catch, the receiver will then proceed to run towards the opposing end zone carrying the ball and try to score a touchdown, unless the play ends due to him being downed or forced out of bounds. Yardage gained from the passing play is credited to the receiver as his receiving yards.
It is important to note that a reception should not be confused with a lateral, also known as a lateral pass or backward pass, which is a legal pass anywhere on the field. In a lateral pass, the ball is thrown backwards or sideways to a teammate with no vector of the pass trajectory towards the opponents goal.
