It’s late in the season; the playoffs are fast approaching; and the Washington Sentinels have just gone on strike. Scrambling for a solution, the Sentinels’ owner Edward O’Neil (Jack Warden) hatches a plan to bring in legendary coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) to recruit a team of replacement players in exactly one week.

For fans and owners alike, the strike is a disaster. But for Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves) and a mismatched crew of outsiders, it is the second chance they’ve waited their whole lives for. These underdogs are not exactly pro football’s finest. But their passionate love for the game and trust in each other will bring something back to football that it has missed for a long time – heart.