Running out the clock
In American football, each quarter of a game is measured with a 15-minute game clock, or 12-minute clock in many high school football codes and the German Football League. A team in possession of the lead and the ball will attempt to use up as much of the game clock as possible in order to bring the game to an end more quickly, thus denying the opposition another chance on offense.
2000 Miami Dolphins season
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Miami led New York 30–7. The Jets then proceeded to quickly close the 23-point deficit throughout the fourth quarter. By 3:55 left in the game, New York tied the game at 30–30, after scoring three touchdowns and a field goal, with a failed two-point conversion. About 22 seconds later, Miami scored a touchdown to re-take the lead. However, New York answered with another touchdown with 42 seconds left in regulation. Neither team scored again and the game went into overtime because of a 37–37 tie. In the fourth quarter, the Dolphins had only 1 first down versus 20 for the Jets, which was more than 15 other NFL teams had in their entire game in week 8. During overtime, Fiedler was intercepted about one minute in by Marcus Coleman, but Coleman fumbled and Miami recovered. However, Fiedler was soon intercepted again by Coleman; this time, the Dolphins were successfully overturned. The Jets then drove the ball to Miami's 23 yard line. With 8:13 left in overtime, John Hall kicked a field goal, ending the game 40–37 in favor of New York. The Dolphins fell to 5–2.