The Replacements

Factual error: After the onside kick, they did NOT return for a big gain. Bateman tried to keep running with the ball, but Falco (who as quarterback shouldn't even be on the field during this play) tackled him. While Bateman was running with the ball, he just kept going back and forth near the line of scrimmage and didn't advance.

Factual error: It appears the movie roster of replacement is made up of 22 players (23 if you count the kicker). This is evidenced by Falco being cut once Martel crosses. This would not happen in the real NFL. NFL rosters carry 53 players, with 45 typically active on gameday. Falco, even on a replacement roster, would not be the only QB on the roster, nor would he be cut if he was because another QB joined the team. Teams usually carry two QBs minimum, if not three.

Lionfan1986

Factual error: The clock would stop on an incomplete pass, rendering the use of a timeout in that situation to stop the clock pointless. They call timeout after Falco throws incomplete to Franklin, which would not happen in a real NFL game unless the coach or a player needed time to call a play or get their signals straight.

Lionfan1986

Factual error: The NFL rules for an onside kick state that only the receiving team may advance the ball. If the kicking team recovers the ball, then the play is blown dead and the recovering team goes on offense from that spot. This would mean that when Falco having to call a timeout after he tackled Bateman running around with the ball wasting time would not have actually happened in a real NFL game.

Lionfan1986

Factual error: The clock would stop once an onside kick is blown dead, meaning there would be no need to waste a time out. The first onside kick attempted by the Sentinels, they recover the ball and are down by contact. This should have blown the play dead and automatically stopped the clock, but McGinty calls a timeout to "stop the clock." This wouldn't happen in a real NFL game, even back when this film was made.

Lionfan1986

Continuity mistake: In the beginning of the movie, we see Keanu clean the boat and then throw a football under water. The scene changes between different shots and we can see Keanu sometimes standing on the ground and sometimes in midwater (most noteable before he swims to the surface). (00:01:50)

Christoph Galuschka

More mistakes in The Replacements

John Madden: I love to see a fat guy score.
Pat Summerall: Why?
John Madden: Because first you get a fat guy spike, then you get the fat guy dance.

More quotes from The Replacements

Trivia: The movie is supposed to be in Washington D.C. Starting with the 1997 season, Washington moved from RFK stadium in DC to a stadium in Landover, MD. So the movie was filmed in Baltimore, MD. They used Camden Yards, Orioles stadium, and the stadium where the Ravens play.

More trivia for The Replacements

Question: When Martel plays with the replacement players, he keeps throwing passes to the opposing team and keeps making his team either miss the ball entirely or gives the ball to another player causing them to be tackled. He then tells O'Neil that he can't play with a team like them. Is he deliberately doing all of this because he wants the replacements to lose? I find it hard to believe that he can't work with the team when it looked very obvious to me that what he was doing was intentional.

Answer: He is deliberately making them look bad. Purposely throwing interceptions, running plays that will not gain any yardage. He tells O'Neil he can't play with them because he is lying.

More questions & answers from The Replacements

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.