One-time pro quarterback, Paul Crewe (Burt Reynolds) is now behind bars for leading the state police on a wild chase in a "borrowed" car. The sadistic and scheming warden (Eddie Albert) recruits Crewe to form a team of convicts to go up against the warden's polished, semi-pro team of prison guards in a championship game. Crewe has agreed that his team-- dubbed the "Mean Machine"--will provide only passive resistance to the squad of brutal guards. But the gridiron showdown turns into a gritty game of cunning strategy and outright survival as the Mean Machine defies the warden's iron-fisted control and attempts to go the distance!