What is "play-action pass"

A play-action pass (also known as the "play fake" or "play-action") is a type of American and Canadian football play. The play action appears to be a running play, but is actually a pass play; in this way, it can be considered the opposite of a draw play. Play-action passes are often used against defenses that are focused on stopping the run. By initially simulating a running play, the offense attempts to deceive the defense into acting on the fake run and being out of position in their pass coverage, giving receivers more time and room to be free to receive passes behind the linebackers.