Why do teams return kickoffs?
Kick returns can occur on kickoffs and punts (barring an onside kick). Returns also happen during missed field goals or extra point attempts. During a kick return, a returner catches the kick and runs with it as far as they can toward the opposing team's end zone until they are tackled or forced out of bounds.
If a punt or kickoff goes through the uprights (or hits the uprights) it is ruled a touchback as the uprights and areas beyond are considered out of bounds and out of play.
If the ball is declared dead while in the simultaneous possession of two opposing players, the ball is awarded to the receiving team. A player of the kicking team may legally touch, catch, or recover the ball if: it first touches a receiving team player; or. it reaches or crosses the receiving team's restraining line.
The Super Bowl is a different animal. Over the last 20 years, only two opening kickoffs have produced a touchback. Eighteen of the last 20 opening kickoffs have been returned.
A touchback can also be very beneficial for a kickoff team, too. When they can get a touchback, they don't have to worry about covering the kick, and possibly allowing the return team to gain more yards than the touchback would give them. Therefore, it's a nice thing that they are willing to give up.
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Comparing fortnights.
| Kickoff comparison: 2015 vs. 2016, first two weeks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overall return rate | 32% | 39% |
| Yards/kickoff | 65.4 | 64.5 |
| Yards/return | 23.5 | 21.4 |
Super Bowl XXXV saw two consecutive kickoffs returned for touchdowns. What made this even more remarkable was that this immediately followed a pick-six from the Baltimore Ravens' Duane Starks, making this a streak of three consecutive touchdown returns.
Why is a kickoff out of bounds a penalty in football? Kicking the ball out of bounds on a kickoff is considered a penalty in football because the receiving team needs a fair chance to return the kickoff, call for a fair catch, or get a touchback.
To answer your question, no, it's not an official record, but it has happened extremely rarely. It would be the equivalent of a 75-yard field goal when kicked from the 35-yard line (which it would be, unless a penalty moved the kickoff spot).
As a general rule, the ball must travel ten or more yards before the kicking team can recover the ball on a kickoff. This rule prevents the kicking team from merely tapping the ball a yard and picking the ball up without giving a fair chance to the receiving team.
Why do players keep running after kickoff?
It is a free sprint that keeps them in shape for the next kickoff. Most importantly... Intimidation.
On an onside kick, if the ball does not travel ten yards before the kicking team recovers the ball, they will take a 5-yard penalty and have the chance to kick another onside kick. If the onside kick goes less than 10 yards again, the receiving team will receive the ball at the spot the kicking team recovered it.
The spot is the 25-yard line in both college and professional football on kickoffs and free kicks after a safety, with the NCAA having changed from the 20 in 2012 and the NFL making the same change in 2018.
When a team receives a touchback, the ball is placed at the 25-yard line to start the next drive. Historically, football teams received the ball at their 20-yard line. However, in 2012, the NCAA adopted a rule change that moved the touchback starting position five yards.
A touchback results in offensive possession at their 25-yard line while a safety scores one or two points for the opposing team.
On punts, no, those they want to pin them deep as their own team is able to down it (i.e. they can get there on time, unlike on kick-offs), or they can kick it out of bounds. On Kick-offs they generally do want a touch back, rather than the not insignificant chance at a big play, and they can't kick it out of bounds.
If a kicked ball, either as a result of a punt, kickoff or missed field goal, touches the ground in the opposing team's end zone, rolls out of the back-end zone or touches the goal post, the play is ruled a touchback and the ball will be spotted at the 25-yard line.
To make a successful kickoff, the first step is to place the ball on the tee to your liking. Next, turn away from the ball and take five steps straight back and two steps to the right if you're right-footed or to the left if you're left-footed.
A good kickoff hangtime in the NFL is above an average of 4.4 seconds, with the leaders being around 4.7 seconds. College and other football league players average slightly less, but still above four seconds.
Notable kickoff returners
Brian Mitchell, who played running back in the NFL for 14 seasons, is the league's career leader in kickoff return yards (14,014) and punt return yards (4,999) by a very wide margin.
What happens if a kickoff goes through the goal posts?
The kick must be either a place kick or a drop kick, and if it passes over the crossbar and between the goalposts of the opposing team's goal, a field goal, worth three points, is awarded to the kicking team.
Yes, permit the forward pass on kickoff returns. The NFL altered kickoff rules in 2011 to reduce the risk of injury, and this might actually make those plays even less dangerous.
Squib kicks are used in a number of situations on kickoffs. These kicks are easy to distinguish since the kicks are kicked low and short. Returners can attempt to return a squib kick or accept the field position they already have by throwing themselves to the ground or taking a knee.
In 2007, Antonio Cromartie returned a missed field goal 109 yards against the Minnesota Vikings.
| Rank | Player | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devin Duvernay | 103 |
| 2 | Steven Sims | 89 |
| 3 | Raheem Blackshear | 66 |
| 4 | KaVontae Turpin | 63 |
Today, we hear from receiver and return specialist Jordan Norwood, who set a Super Bowl record when he returned a second-quarter punt 61 yards. It was Norwood's only return of the day, and it almost didn't happen. Any successful punt return is a fragile thing.
You can punt a lot before tiring out. If you play another sport, you will most likely not be able to kick as much as someone who does not. But you can find few minutes per day to do some easy drills that will keep you improving. And you should be able to get at least one kicking workout per week.
But kickoffs go farther for a few reasons: They're off a tee, rather than off the ground. The kicker places the ball exactly how he wants it, so there are no concerns about a bad snap or a bad hold. With no one rushing, the kicker can get a longer running start toward the ball.
You may see some kickers and punters wearing two different shoes. What the heck is that all about? Well, the answer is, some kickers and punters prefer a more stable football shoe with better ankle support for their plant foot. The plant foot is the foot that you land on just before you kick the ball.
The most common way for a touchback to happen is on kickoffs or punts. The receiving player can force a touchback by either kneeling in the end zone or by letting the ball cross the goal line.
Can you have a false start on a kickoff?
It can be called on the kicking team during a kickoff if the players other than the kicker cross the line before kick contact is made.
For those of you who may not be familiar with a squib kick, it is a short, low kickoff that bounces off the ground a lot. It usually isn't used in the middle of a game, because it gives the returning team very good field position. However, as soon as it hits the ground, it starts taking time off of the clock.
A field goal cannot be scored on a punt kick. By contrast, the now very rarely attempted drop kick can be used to score either field goals or extra points in both American and Canadian football.
If the punting team catches the punt, it's the same as if they had just touched the ball in an attempt to “down” it at that spot. The play is over, the ball is marked at the spot where the ball was caught, and the opposing team goes on offense with a first down at that spot.
By Week 3 of last season, Justin Tucker etched his name in the record books with a game-winning 66-yard field goal to lift the Baltimore Ravens over the Detroit Lions, passing kicker Matt Prater's eight-year record in the process. The media could not be played.
Nothing if he is behind the line of scrimmage and his kickoff team stays behind as well. When he “whiffs” if he crosses the line of scrimmage or anyone else on the kick off team crosses the line of scrimmage, then it would be a 5 yard illegal procedure penalty. Nothing.
Believe it or not, the dropkick remains a legal maneuver in the National Football League today. It still exists in the NFL's official rule book. Rule 3, Section 18, Article 1, Item 1 defines the dropkick as, "a kick by a player who drops the ball and kicks it as, or immediately after, it touches the ground."
Yes, you can fair catch a kickoff in the NFL. The ball must be caught in flight; once the ball touches the ground, a receiver cannot make a fair catch. (If an onside kick does not touch the ground, a quick-thinking defender will signal for a fair catch — but if the kick touches the ground, it's a free-for-all.)
| Kick Returns | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rk | Year | Yds |
| 1 | 2022 | 36.2 |
| 2 | 2021 | 44.9 |
| 3 | 2020 | 43.7 |
| Rank | Team | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 97.06% |
| 2 | LA Rams | 84.62% |
| 3 | Washington | 83.33% |
| 4 | NY Jets | 82.86% |
Can you kick a field goal on 3rd and 4th down?
Yes, teams are allowed to attempt a field goal on any down. If they miss the field goal, no matter what down it is, they turn the ball over and the defense gains possession. Because of this, teams almost always wait until 4th down to attempt a FG.
The 50:22 law means that if a player kicks from inside their own half and the ball bounces before going into touch inside the opposition 22, the kicking team will get to throw into the subsequent lineout.
In an attempt to reduce the frequency of kick returns—and by extension cut down on injuries—the NFL decided in the offseason to put the ball on the 25-yard line after a touchback. The rationale, of course, was that the extra five yards might cause returners to gamble less often on kicks that go into the end zone.
Generally punters can kick field goals in a pinch. Since Kickers and Punters are specialists, they don't generally practice the "other" kicking discipline; however, many kickers and punters pulled double duty in high school, so they have done it before.
Kickoffs have seen the most dramatic results, with touchbacks going from a 41% touchback rate in 2011 to 61% in 2020. Despite the trend in kicker improvement, in 2021, following two consecutive years of record highs, the rate of touchbacks on kickoffs dropped to 57%.
The spot is the 25-yard line in both college and professional football on kickoffs and free kicks after a safety, with the NCAA having changed from the 20 in 2012 and the NFL making the same change in 2018.
The idea was to reduce the number of kickoff returns, and therefore the number of traumatic injuries that occur on a play in which high-speed collisions occur regularly. The thinking was a receiving team was more likely to take a touchback on a kick into the end zone knowing the ball would be spotted at the 25.
“There isn't normally a touchback on the opening kickoff because the ball is a brand new ball…that ball goes immediately to the Hall of Fame right after the kick, so it is not beat to hell and back for 30 minutes by an equipment manager,” said McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show.
That pick looks pretty good after the rookie just set the NFL record for the longest kickoff return ever by taking the opening kickoff back 109 yards for the touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
There is no rule about the required exact distance from the line of scrimmage. It can be taken from the line itself or behind. They kick from 7 yards behind the line primarily because they're used to it.
Why did NFL change kickoff spot?
To reduce kickoff returns and limit concussions, the NFL, in 2011, decided to move the spot of the kickoff to the 35-yard line and limited running starts to five yards.
The Kickoff Rules
The change prevents a running start and aims to reduce the speed of collisions. "In the past, you got free runners coming down the field blowing up returners, so we took that away with this new setup," Coach Toub said.
When caught, the fair catch results in a touchback and the offense begins play on the 25-yard line. The rule was implemented to make kickoffs safer for return players, allowing teams to safely elect a fair catch and resume play on the 25-yard line.
Believe it or not, the dropkick remains a legal maneuver in the National Football League today. It still exists in the NFL's official rule book. Rule 3, Section 18, Article 1, Item 1 defines the dropkick as, "a kick by a player who drops the ball and kicks it as, or immediately after, it touches the ground."
In recent years, as punters have become more adept at kicking the ball so as to not have it bounce forward after landing, punting teams have increasingly eschewed coffin corner punts in favor of kicking inbounds and downing the ball before it reaches the end zone.
The team in possession of the ball will typically punt the ball to the opposing team when they are on their final down (fourth down in American football, third down in Canadian football), do not want to risk a turnover on downs by not gaining enough yardage to make a first down, and do not believe they are in range for ...
