The Miami Sharks, a once-great American football team, are now in turmoil and struggling to make the 2001 Associated Football Franchises of America (AFFA) playoffs. They are coached by thirty-year veteran Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino), who has fallen out of favor with young owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), who inherited the team, and offensive coordinator Nick Crozier (Aaron Eckhart), who is expected to succeed D’Amato as head coach.

In the thirteenth game of the season against the Minnesota Americans, both the Sharks’ starting quarterback, Jack “Cap” Rooney (Dennis Quaid), and the second-string quarterback, Tyler Cherubini, are injured and forced to leave the field. The desperate Sharks call upon third-string quarterback and former seventh-round draft pick Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx). Beamen is visibly nervous and makes a number of errors…