Safety (football score)
Encyclopedia
A safety or safety touch is a type of score in American football
and Canadian football
and is worth two points (with one very rare exception). In American football, it is the only means by which a team not in possession of the football can score points. Analogous to an own goal
in other team sports, a safety may occur in a variety of ways, most commonly when an opponent in possession of the football is tackled
in his own end zone
. The term "safety" is a relic of the earliest days of college football during which a team which possessed the ball near its own goal line could down it in its own endzone in order to have the ball replaced at its own 25-yard line. NFL statistics on safeties date back to 1932; from 1932 through the 2009 season (excluding 1943, for which statistics are not available), 823 safeties have been scored in the NFL.
Not all of these scenarios result automatically in a safety. If a player on the defense gains possession of the ball in his own end zone through a fumble
recovery or interception and is tackled there, it is a touchback
, not a safety. If he makes an interception outside of the end zone, his momentum carries him into the end zone and he is tackled there, his team gets the ball at the spot of the interception. However, if a player gains possession of the ball and retreats on his own initiative into his end zone where he is tackled, it is a safety for the opposing team. Similar rules apply on punts
and kickoffs
. If the receiver of a punt or kick receives the ball and does not enter the field of play, and is tackled (or intentionally downs the ball) in his own end zone, the result is instead a touchback
.
Also, before the NFL changed its rules in the early 1970s to move the goalposts to the back of the end zone, an ‘automatic’ safety was scored against the offense if the ball in play (i.e., a pass, punt, or otherwise) touched the goalposts (see The Baugh/Marshall Rule below).
An official
signals a safety by holding his hands above his head, palms touching.
A safety is by far the least common type of score in American football, because of the relative rarity of the circumstances that could produce a safety. No National Football League
team has ever recorded more than four in one season. Safeties usually occur when the offense starts a play close to its own end zone. In such cases, offenses tend to run very conservative, low-risk plays to avoid a safety.
Intentional safeties are rare, but do happen, particularly in Canadian football. For a discussion of this strategy, see the "Elective safeties" section below.
, kick
or a drop kick
. Unlike the kickoff
, a kicking tee may not be used (NFL only, college kickers have the option of using a tee on the safety kick). A punt is the most commonly chosen option, whereas a drop kick is virtually unheard-of in modern football. As with regular kickoffs, the kicking team has the opportunity to make and recover an onside kick
, even if the safety kick is punted.
"Free kicks" do not exist in Canadian football. In the CFL, the scored-against team kicks off from its 25-yard line. In amateur Canadian football, the team scoring a safety touch has three options: scrimmage from its 35-yard line, kick off from its 35-yard line, or have the scored-against team kick off from its 35-yard line.
The elective safety is not uncommon in Canadian (three-down) football when a team faces a third-down situation deep in their own territory. A punt from the end zone would give the receiving team much better field position than a kickoff from the 25-yard line would.
The elective safety is not seen often in American (four-down) football, since the ensuing free kick would come from the 20-yard line. However, it is occasionally employed by teams who are willing to trade two points on the scoreboard for a perceived greater advantage in field position or clock time, or by teams who are unwilling to risk a mishap
that could be converted by the opposing team into a much more significant touchdown
.
Another reason to take an elective safety can be to deny the opposing team the option of a fair catch kick
. Because a fair catch
can only be called if the ball has not touched the ground, a punt is usually the only situation in which this can happen. Therefore, a team leading by three points at the end of a game could elect to take a safety so that they could squib kick the ball, preventing the fair-catch and free kick that follows it.
A notable example of a team conceding an intentional safety for field position occurred in a Monday Night Football
game on Monday, November 3, 2003. Trailing the Denver Broncos
by one point with about three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and facing fourth-and-long from their own 1-yard line, the New England Patriots
elected to have long snapper Lonie Paxton
intentionally snap the ball against the goalpost, rather than attempt a dangerous punt. With the Patriots now trailing by three, their ensuing free kick traveled all the way to the Broncos' 15. The Patriots defense forced a punt, and their offense subsequently drove down the field for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left.
Another notable example of a team conceding an intentional safety occurred in the December 31, 1994, playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. The Packers were leading, 16-10, and had the ball deep in their own territory, while facing fourth down with only a few seconds remaining. Knowing that a punt return could beat them, while a field goal could not, the Packers opted to have punter Craig Hentrich scramble in the end zone prior to stepping out of the back corner of the end zone for an intentional safety. Hentrich was able to run out the remaining game time on the play. However, even if he had failed to do so, the Packers would still have been able to punt from their own 20 to restart play, a more advantageous situation than punting from deep in the Packers end zone. Further, even after giving up the safety, the Packers remained in a position where a touchdown could beat them, but a field goal could not. Perhaps the most noteworthy impact of the intentional safety was felt in Las Vegas, as the betting line on the game was Packers by 4 points. Therefore, by taking the intentional safety, the Packers turned what would have been a win for those who bet on them into a push.
An example of a team trading an elective safety for a clock time advantage arose in college football's Backyard Brawl
on December 1, 2007. Leading the West Virginia Mountaineers
13-7 with nine seconds remaining, the Pittsburgh Panthers faced a fourth down at their own 15. The Pittsburgh punter received the snap at the goal line and, instead of punting, scrambled in his end zone until the remaining time expired. He then stepped over the end line to concede two points, making the final score 13-9. West Virginia was thus denied the opportunity to gain possession of the ball to possibly score a winning touchdown.
Another example of a team trading an elective safety for field position, this time in college, happened in 2004, when Iowa defeated Penn State 6-4, because of Iowa's two field goals and Penn State's two safeties; it is the only time in the modern era where that score has happened. The second safety occurred when Iowa faced a fourth down just inches ahead of its own end zone and rather than risk a blocked punt, which Penn State had already done a few times that day and which would probably have led to a touchdown, they decided to take a safety and "free kick" to Penn State from the 20. This allowed Iowa to hold off Penn State's offense for the remainder of the game.
Another example of a team trading an elective safety in college happened September 24th, 2011, when Oklahoma State University defeated Texas A&M
30-29. Texas A&M trailed by 3 points, 30-27, when OSU reached a 4th and long dilemma with 8 seconds remaining on the clock. If OSU had punted the ball, it would have given A&M 3 different opportunities: Return the punt for a TD, call a timeout and have one last play, or take a fair-catch free kick for an opportunity to tie the game. OSU opted to hike the ball to wide receiver, Justin Blackmon, who ran the ball 40 yards backwards, out of the end zone, for a safety. Time expired and OSU won the game 30-29.
An elective safety may also arise from a loose ball in or near one's own end zone, usually the result of a fumble or a blocked punt. A player may choose to kick or bat the ball out of his end zone intentionally, conceding two points but denying the opponents the opportunity to recover the ball for a touchdown. Buffalo Bills
punter Brian Moorman
employed this strategy in an NFL game against the host Cleveland Browns
on December 16, 2007, played in a fierce blizzard, after a bad snap from center sailed over his head. However, Cleveland won the game, 8-0; the only other scores were two field goals.
The New Orleans Saints
conceded an elective safety in the last seconds of the second NFL
Wembley Stadium
game on 26 October 2008 in order to kill time as they held a seven-point lead and won the game 37-32.
Virginia Tech conceded an elective safety in the 2008 ACC Championship Game
against Boston College
. With 2:58 left in the game and Virginia Tech ahead 30-10, VT player Brent Bowden ran out of bounds in his team's own end zone, scoring a two-point safety for Boston College. This was considered a "safe" move against a strong BC defense, capable of blocking the punt, scoring a touchdown, and setting them up for a second touchdown following a probable onside kick
. Instead, VT punted from its 20 yard line and prevented BC from scoring for the remainder of the game—which ended with a final score of 30-12.
.
College football rules allow either team to score a one-point safety after a touchdown. Say that Team B blocks Team A's extra-point attempt, and a player on Team B picks up the ball on the 1-yard line. Looking for an opening, the player with the ball runs backwards voluntarily into his end zone, where he is tackled. Team A receives one point for the conversion safety, and the score is now 7–0. Team A then kicks off from its own 30-yard line, as after any touchdown. A conversion safety has occurred at least once in the NCAA, in a game between Texas and Texas A&M
in 2004. Following the Longhorns TD from a blocked punt, the ensuing PAT was blocked and recovered by a Texas A&M player on the one yard line. The player tried to make a return, but was tackled in his own endzone for a one point safety.
Although exceedingly unlikely, college football's rules also allow the defensive team to score a one-point conversion safety on a PAT or conversion try. One possible scenario: Team B blocks Team A's extra-point attempt, and a player on Team B picks up the loose ball and runs towards the opposite end zone. Before reaching the goal line, he fumbles the ball and it is recovered by a player from Team A, who then voluntarily runs into his own (Team A's) end zone and is tackled. Team B would score one point for the conversion safety and the score would then be 6–1. No team has ever scored a defensive conversion safety in an American college football game. However, the rule is notable as being one of just two ways a team may finish a game with a score of exactly one point in American football. The second way is a forfeit in American college or high school football. For example, when Team A forfeits, the final score is 1–0 for Team B.
The NFL also has a one-point "conversion safety" rule, but such a safety can only be scored by the offense. According to former NFL referee Jerry Markbreit
:
This scenario would cover a situation where, for example, an offensive player fumbles the ball short of the goal line on a 2-point try, a defensive player knocks the loose ball into the end zone, and a co-defender falls on it to prevent the offensive player who fumbled from retrieving it for a two-point conversion (by rule, if any other offensive player recovers the fumble in the end zone, the ball would go back to the spot where it was initially fumbled and the two point conversion would be nullified and ruled a failed attempt). The offense would receive one point for the conversion safety, and then they would kick off as they normally would after a touchdown.
1929 Rose Bowl
On January 1, 1929, the California
Golden Bears
faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena, California
. Midway through the second quarter, Roy Riegels
, who played center, picked up a fumble by Tech's Jack "Stumpy" Thomason. Just 30 yards away from the Yellow Jackets' end zone
Riegels scooped up the fumble, but somehow was turned around and ran 69 yards in the wrong direction.
Teammate and quarterback Benny Lom
chased Riegels and screamed at him to stop. Lom finally caught up with Riegels at California's 3-yard line and tried to turn him around, but he was hit by a wave of Tech players and thrown back to the 1-yard line. The Bears chose to punt
rather than risk a play so close to their own end zone, but Tech's Vance Maree blocked Lom's punt for a safety, giving Georgia Tech a 2-0 lead.
Georgia Tech would ultimately win the game—and their second national championship—by a final score of 8-7.
The play is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football.
had the ball at their own 5-yard line. Dropping back into his own end zone, quarterback Sammy Baugh
threw, but the ball hit the goal post (which at the time were on the goal line instead of at the back of the end zone) and bounced back to the ground in the end zone. Under the rules at the time, this was ruled as a safety and thus gave the Cleveland Rams
a 2-0 lead. The Rams went on to win 15-14, as the safety proved to be the margin of victory. Redskins owner George Preston Marshall
was so incensed at the outcome that he became a major force in passing the following major rule change after the season: A forward pass that strikes the goal posts is automatically ruled incomplete. This change later became known as the "Baugh/Marshall Rule". The rule later became superfluous when the goalposts were moved to the back of the end zone, eliminating the possibility of a forward pass striking them.
defensive end Jim Marshall
recovered a San Francisco 49ers
fumble but ran 66 yards the wrong way into his own end zone. He subsequently tossed the ball out of the end zone, thinking he had scored a touchdown. Instead, the 49ers were credited with two points (a safety). The Vikings still won, 27-22, with the game-winning play coming on a fumble recovery caused by Marshall.
hosted LSU in a college game. With Notre Dame leading 39-34 in the final seconds, Irish head coach Bob Davie ordered quarterback Jarious Jackson
to kneel down in his own end zone after time had expired. However, just as Jackson knelt down to take the intentional safety, a pair of LSU defenders hit him and sprained his right MCL
. Ranked #10 with a 9-1 record, Notre Dame needed just one more win at unranked USC to clinch a BCS
bowl game, but the Irish failed to score a point with two back-up quarterbacks at the helm in an eventual 10-0 loss. Notre Dame settled for a bid to the Gator Bowl
, which the Irish lost 35-28 to #17 Georgia Tech.
quarterback Dan Orlovsky
inadvertently ran out of the back of his own end zone in a game against the Minnesota Vikings
. When the officials blew their whistles, Orlovsky did not know why the play was being stopped. According to Tom Pedula in USA Today
, Orlovsky said, "When they started blowing the whistle, I was like, 'Did we false start or were they offsides or something?' Then I looked and I was like, 'You are an idiot.'" The two points proved to be the difference in a 12–10 Vikings victory. The media labeled the play as emblematic of the Lions' struggles during their eventual 0–16 season.
faced the host Minnesota Vikings
on Monday Night Football
. The Packers trailed the Vikings 28–14 mid-way through the 4th quarter. With the ball at the Green Bay one-yard line, the Packers attempted a pass from their own end zone. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen
grabbed Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
from behind for a sack, with Rodgers appearing to fumble the ball at the one-yard line and Allen recovering. Referee Gene Steratore
ruled Vikings possession inside the one-yard line. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy challenged the play and asserted that Rodgers' knee was down in his own end zone before the fumble, asking Steratore to award the Vikings a safety and increase their lead to 30–14.
Strategically, the move made sense: the Vikings would have a 16-point lead (still a two-possession game—two touchdowns and two two-point conversions), and the Packers would be allowed to free kick from their own 20-yard line. Had McCarthy not challenged, the Vikings would still have led 28–14, but would have almost assuredly increased their lead to a three-possession game with a field goal or touchdown.
Steratore reversed his own ruling and awarded a safety to the Vikings. The Packers added a touchdown (missing a two-point conversion) and a field goal, but lost by the score of 30–23.
six times, with the Pittsburgh Steelers
being involved in three such instances, scoring a safety in two instances and giving up a safety in another.
Super Bowl IX
In what had been a defensive struggle for most of the first half between the Pittsburgh Steelers
and Minnesota Vikings
, the only score in the first half came on a second quarter safety by the Steelers. Steelers defensive end Dwight White
had downed Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton
in the end zone after Tarkenton landed on a Dave Osborn
fumble in the end zone which had been kicked toward the goal line by the Steelers' other defensive end, L.C. Greenwood. Aside from being the first Super Bowl safety, it was also notable in that White nearly missed the game due to a bout with pneumonia
. The Steelers went on to win 16-6.
Super Bowl X
The Pittsburgh Steelers
trailed the Dallas Cowboys
10-7 early in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl X when Dallas punter Mitch Hoopes
was forced to punt from inside his own goal line. As Hoopes stepped up to make the kick, Steelers running back Reggie Harrison
broke through the line and blocked the punt. The ball went through the end zone for a safety, cutting the Dallas lead to 10–9. Then Pittsburgh's Mike Collier
returned the ensuing free kick 25 yards to the Cowboys 45-yard line. Roy Gerela
later kicked a 36-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh its first lead of the game, 12–10, and the Steelers went on to repeat as Super Bowl champions with a 21-17 victory.
Super Bowl XX
In the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XX, the Chicago Bears
scored a safety against the New England Patriots
when defensive lineman Henry Waechter
sacked quarterback Steve Grogan
into the end zone. Grogan had been the backup quarterback, and he had replaced Tony Eason
in the fourth quarter. Patriots coach Raymond Berry
had placed Grogan in the game to give him a chance to play on the NFL's biggest stage, and he did throw a touchdown pass in the game. The Bears dominated the game, especially the second half, on both offense and defense, and won easily 46-10.
Super Bowl XXI
In the second quarter of Super Bowl XXI, the New York Giants
scored a safety against the Denver Broncos
when defensive end George Martin sacked John Elway
into the end zone, cutting the Broncos' 10-7 lead to 10-9. The Giants, who had been ahead earlier, would later retake the lead and go on to win the game 39-20.
Super Bowl XXV
In the second quarter of Super Bowl XXV between the Buffalo Bills
and New York Giants
, Bills defensive end Bruce Smith sacked Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler
in the end zone for a safety, giving the Bills a 12-3 lead. Buffalo ultimately lost the game 20-19 after their kicker, Scott Norwood
, infamously missed the game-winning field goal
as time expired.
Super Bowl XLIII
In the fourth quarter between the Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals
, Steelers center Justin Hartwig
committed a holding penalty
in the Steelers own end zone, wiping out a 20-yard Ben Roethlisberger
pass to Santonio Holmes
on 3rd-and-10. The automatic safety would cut the Steelers lead to 20-16 (and subsequently put them behind 23-20 after Larry Fitzgerald
caught a 63-yard touchdown pass by Kurt Warner
on the Cardinals' ensuing drive after the free kick), but Pittsburgh went on to win 27-23. It remains the only time that a safety in the Super Bowl was the result of a penalty.
^ This is the only game in NFL history that finished with either the winning or the losing team scoring a total of 4 points.
+ This was the first ever game of the Pittsburgh Steelers
, thusly scoring the franchise's first points on a safety.
team record for safeties in a game is three, by the Los Angeles Rams
against the New York Giants
on September 30, 1984. The individual record is two, by the Rams' Fred Dryer
against the Green Bay Packers
on October 21, 1973. Ted Hendricks
and Doug English
share the NFL career record for safeties with four.
League-wide, the record for most safeties scored by all teams in a season is 26 in 1988. The fewest safeties scored across the league is 2, occurring in 1934. The season with the greatest frequency of safeties was 1932, with 8 safeties in 48 games (one safety every six games). The season with the lowest frequency of safeties was 1966, with 3 safeties in 105 games (one safety every 35 games).
Only two regular-season NFL
games have ever ended in overtime
with a safety: in 1989 when the Minnesota Vikings
defeated the Los Angeles Rams
23–21 when Mike Merriweather
blocked a punt into the end zone, and in 2004 when the Chicago Bears
defeated the Tennessee Titans
19–17 when Billy Volek
fumbled in his own end zone and a teammate recovered it but was unable to get out of the end zone. A 1989 pre-season game also ended in an overtime safety.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
does not keep individual statistics for safeties. Three Division I-A teams have scored three safeties in a game: Arizona State
in 1996 (in a 19-0 victory over then-No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Nebraska
, ending the Cornhuskers' 26-game winning streak); North Texas
in 2003; and Bowling Green
in 2005. In Division I-AA, the University of Massachusetts
in 2007 scored only six points in a game, from three safeties against Rhode Island
. UMass had also scored three safeties in a game against Albany in 2005, a Division I-AA record. In 2004, when Iowa defeated Penn State 6–4, because of Iowa's two field goals and Penn State's two safeties, it was the only instance of such a score in the modern era, and it was the first time since Florida
lost to Miami 31-4 in 1987 that a team finished a game with exactly four points. The only other occasion on which a game ended with that score was when Rutgers defeated Princeton in 1869 by six "runs" to four in what is recognized as the first intercollegiate football game.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
and is worth two points (with one very rare exception). In American football, it is the only means by which a team not in possession of the football can score points. Analogous to an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
in other team sports, a safety may occur in a variety of ways, most commonly when an opponent in possession of the football is tackled
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
in his own end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
. The term "safety" is a relic of the earliest days of college football during which a team which possessed the ball near its own goal line could down it in its own endzone in order to have the ball replaced at its own 25-yard line. NFL statistics on safeties date back to 1932; from 1932 through the 2009 season (excluding 1943, for which statistics are not available), 823 safeties have been scored in the NFL.
Safety scores
Among the ways the defensive (non-possessing) team may score a safety are:- an opponent in possession of the ball is tackled in his own end zoneEnd zoneIn gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
; - an opponent in possession of the ball steps out of play (i.e., across the side line or end line) from his own end zone;
- an opponent snapsSnap (football)A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...
, lateralsLateral passIn American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...
, or fumbleFumbleA fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
s the ball out of play in his own end zone; - an opponent fumbles the ball in the field of play and the loose ball touches the pylon of his own end zone;
- an opponent touches the ball on a kickoff and it rolls out of the back or sides of the end zone;
- an opponent downs (kneels or falls on) the ball in his own end zone (an intentional safety);
- the opposing team has a punt or kick blocked, and the ball then goes out of play in their own end zone;
- the opposing team commits certain penaltiesAmerican football rulesGame play in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is dead or not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage—passes, runs, punts, or field goal attempts—or free kicks such as kickoffs...
, such as intentional grounding or holding, in their own end zone.
Not all of these scenarios result automatically in a safety. If a player on the defense gains possession of the ball in his own end zone through a fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
recovery or interception and is tackled there, it is a touchback
Touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
, not a safety. If he makes an interception outside of the end zone, his momentum carries him into the end zone and he is tackled there, his team gets the ball at the spot of the interception. However, if a player gains possession of the ball and retreats on his own initiative into his end zone where he is tackled, it is a safety for the opposing team. Similar rules apply on punts
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
and kickoffs
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
. If the receiver of a punt or kick receives the ball and does not enter the field of play, and is tackled (or intentionally downs the ball) in his own end zone, the result is instead a touchback
Touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
.
Also, before the NFL changed its rules in the early 1970s to move the goalposts to the back of the end zone, an ‘automatic’ safety was scored against the offense if the ball in play (i.e., a pass, punt, or otherwise) touched the goalposts (see The Baugh/Marshall Rule below).
An official
Official (American football)
In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field...
signals a safety by holding his hands above his head, palms touching.
A safety is by far the least common type of score in American football, because of the relative rarity of the circumstances that could produce a safety. No National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
team has ever recorded more than four in one season. Safeties usually occur when the offense starts a play close to its own end zone. In such cases, offenses tend to run very conservative, low-risk plays to avoid a safety.
Intentional safeties are rare, but do happen, particularly in Canadian football. For a discussion of this strategy, see the "Elective safeties" section below.
Resuming play after a safety
The various rules books prescribe different methods for resuming play after a safety. In the NFL, the team that gave up the points kicks to the other team from its own 20-yard line. This is termed a free kick: the kicking team has the option of employing a puntPunt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
, kick
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
or a drop kick
Drop kick
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....
. Unlike the kickoff
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
, a kicking tee may not be used (NFL only, college kickers have the option of using a tee on the safety kick). A punt is the most commonly chosen option, whereas a drop kick is virtually unheard-of in modern football. As with regular kickoffs, the kicking team has the opportunity to make and recover an onside kick
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
, even if the safety kick is punted.
"Free kicks" do not exist in Canadian football. In the CFL, the scored-against team kicks off from its 25-yard line. In amateur Canadian football, the team scoring a safety touch has three options: scrimmage from its 35-yard line, kick off from its 35-yard line, or have the scored-against team kick off from its 35-yard line.
Elective safeties
Occasionally, the team with the ball may concede a safety intentionally, as a game strategy.The elective safety is not uncommon in Canadian (three-down) football when a team faces a third-down situation deep in their own territory. A punt from the end zone would give the receiving team much better field position than a kickoff from the 25-yard line would.
The elective safety is not seen often in American (four-down) football, since the ensuing free kick would come from the 20-yard line. However, it is occasionally employed by teams who are willing to trade two points on the scoreboard for a perceived greater advantage in field position or clock time, or by teams who are unwilling to risk a mishap
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
that could be converted by the opposing team into a much more significant touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
.
Another reason to take an elective safety can be to deny the opposing team the option of a fair catch kick
Fair catch kick
The fair catch kick is a rarely used rule in some forms of American football that allows a team, after making a fair catch of an opponent's kick, to attempt a field goal freely from the spot of the catch. It is one of the three types of free kicks; the other two are the kickoff and the safety kick...
. Because a fair catch
Fair catch
A fair catch is a feature of American football and several other codes of football, in which a player attempting to catch a ball kicked by the opposing team – either on a kickoff or punt – is entitled to catch the ball without interference from any member of the kicking team...
can only be called if the ball has not touched the ground, a punt is usually the only situation in which this can happen. Therefore, a team leading by three points at the end of a game could elect to take a safety so that they could squib kick the ball, preventing the fair-catch and free kick that follows it.
A notable example of a team conceding an intentional safety for field position occurred in a Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game on Monday, November 3, 2003. Trailing the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
by one point with about three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and facing fourth-and-long from their own 1-yard line, the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
elected to have long snapper Lonie Paxton
Lonie Paxton
Leonidas E. "Lonie" Paxton III born March 13, 1978 in Orange, California) is an American football long snapper for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2000...
intentionally snap the ball against the goalpost, rather than attempt a dangerous punt. With the Patriots now trailing by three, their ensuing free kick traveled all the way to the Broncos' 15. The Patriots defense forced a punt, and their offense subsequently drove down the field for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left.
Another notable example of a team conceding an intentional safety occurred in the December 31, 1994, playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. The Packers were leading, 16-10, and had the ball deep in their own territory, while facing fourth down with only a few seconds remaining. Knowing that a punt return could beat them, while a field goal could not, the Packers opted to have punter Craig Hentrich scramble in the end zone prior to stepping out of the back corner of the end zone for an intentional safety. Hentrich was able to run out the remaining game time on the play. However, even if he had failed to do so, the Packers would still have been able to punt from their own 20 to restart play, a more advantageous situation than punting from deep in the Packers end zone. Further, even after giving up the safety, the Packers remained in a position where a touchdown could beat them, but a field goal could not. Perhaps the most noteworthy impact of the intentional safety was felt in Las Vegas, as the betting line on the game was Packers by 4 points. Therefore, by taking the intentional safety, the Packers turned what would have been a win for those who bet on them into a push.
An example of a team trading an elective safety for a clock time advantage arose in college football's Backyard Brawl
Backyard Brawl
The Backyard Brawl is an annual football game between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. The term "Backyard Brawl" has also been used to refer to college basketball games played annually or semi-iannually and may also be used to refer to other...
on December 1, 2007. Leading the West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference. On July 1, 2012 the Mountaineers will switch conferences, moving from the Big East to the Big 12, becoming...
13-7 with nine seconds remaining, the Pittsburgh Panthers faced a fourth down at their own 15. The Pittsburgh punter received the snap at the goal line and, instead of punting, scrambled in his end zone until the remaining time expired. He then stepped over the end line to concede two points, making the final score 13-9. West Virginia was thus denied the opportunity to gain possession of the ball to possibly score a winning touchdown.
Another example of a team trading an elective safety for field position, this time in college, happened in 2004, when Iowa defeated Penn State 6-4, because of Iowa's two field goals and Penn State's two safeties; it is the only time in the modern era where that score has happened. The second safety occurred when Iowa faced a fourth down just inches ahead of its own end zone and rather than risk a blocked punt, which Penn State had already done a few times that day and which would probably have led to a touchdown, they decided to take a safety and "free kick" to Penn State from the 20. This allowed Iowa to hold off Penn State's offense for the remainder of the game.
Another example of a team trading an elective safety in college happened September 24th, 2011, when Oklahoma State University defeated Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
30-29. Texas A&M trailed by 3 points, 30-27, when OSU reached a 4th and long dilemma with 8 seconds remaining on the clock. If OSU had punted the ball, it would have given A&M 3 different opportunities: Return the punt for a TD, call a timeout and have one last play, or take a fair-catch free kick for an opportunity to tie the game. OSU opted to hike the ball to wide receiver, Justin Blackmon, who ran the ball 40 yards backwards, out of the end zone, for a safety. Time expired and OSU won the game 30-29.
An elective safety may also arise from a loose ball in or near one's own end zone, usually the result of a fumble or a blocked punt. A player may choose to kick or bat the ball out of his end zone intentionally, conceding two points but denying the opponents the opportunity to recover the ball for a touchdown. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
punter Brian Moorman
Brian Moorman
Brian Donald Moorman is an American football punter who currently plays for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1999. He played collegiately at Pittsburg State.Moorman is a two-time Pro Bowl selection for...
employed this strategy in an NFL game against the host Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on December 16, 2007, played in a fierce blizzard, after a bad snap from center sailed over his head. However, Cleveland won the game, 8-0; the only other scores were two field goals.
The New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
conceded an elective safety in the last seconds of the second NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
game on 26 October 2008 in order to kill time as they held a seven-point lead and won the game 37-32.
Virginia Tech conceded an elective safety in the 2008 ACC Championship Game
ACC Championship Game
The Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game is an American college football game held on the first Saturday in December by the Atlantic Coast Conference each year to determine its football champion. The game pits the champion of the Coastal Division against the champion of the Atlantic Division in a game...
against Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. With 2:58 left in the game and Virginia Tech ahead 30-10, VT player Brent Bowden ran out of bounds in his team's own end zone, scoring a two-point safety for Boston College. This was considered a "safe" move against a strong BC defense, capable of blocking the punt, scoring a touchdown, and setting them up for a second touchdown following a probable onside kick
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
. Instead, VT punted from its 20 yard line and prevented BC from scoring for the remainder of the game—which ended with a final score of 30-12.
Safeties on PAT/conversion tries
While safeties are generally worth two points, they are worth one point when they occur during a point-after attemptExtra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
.
College football rules allow either team to score a one-point safety after a touchdown. Say that Team B blocks Team A's extra-point attempt, and a player on Team B picks up the ball on the 1-yard line. Looking for an opening, the player with the ball runs backwards voluntarily into his end zone, where he is tackled. Team A receives one point for the conversion safety, and the score is now 7–0. Team A then kicks off from its own 30-yard line, as after any touchdown. A conversion safety has occurred at least once in the NCAA, in a game between Texas and Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in 2004. Following the Longhorns TD from a blocked punt, the ensuing PAT was blocked and recovered by a Texas A&M player on the one yard line. The player tried to make a return, but was tackled in his own endzone for a one point safety.
Although exceedingly unlikely, college football's rules also allow the defensive team to score a one-point conversion safety on a PAT or conversion try. One possible scenario: Team B blocks Team A's extra-point attempt, and a player on Team B picks up the loose ball and runs towards the opposite end zone. Before reaching the goal line, he fumbles the ball and it is recovered by a player from Team A, who then voluntarily runs into his own (Team A's) end zone and is tackled. Team B would score one point for the conversion safety and the score would then be 6–1. No team has ever scored a defensive conversion safety in an American college football game. However, the rule is notable as being one of just two ways a team may finish a game with a score of exactly one point in American football. The second way is a forfeit in American college or high school football. For example, when Team A forfeits, the final score is 1–0 for Team B.
The NFL also has a one-point "conversion safety" rule, but such a safety can only be scored by the offense. According to former NFL referee Jerry Markbreit
Jerry Markbreit
Jerry Markbreit is a former American football referee in the National Football League for 23 seasons and became one of the most recognizable referees in the game. Markbreit officiated football games for 43 seasons. From 1965 to 1975, Markbreit officiated college football games in the Big Ten...
:
Under NFL rules, an unsuccessful extra-point is dead if kicked, but while attempting a two-point try, it is possible for a safety to be ruled if the defensive team forces the ball back into their own end zone and they recover. One point would be awarded [to the offense], instead of the two points that are normally awarded for safeties. Although the offense would still kick off, since they just scored a touchdown.
This scenario would cover a situation where, for example, an offensive player fumbles the ball short of the goal line on a 2-point try, a defensive player knocks the loose ball into the end zone, and a co-defender falls on it to prevent the offensive player who fumbled from retrieving it for a two-point conversion (by rule, if any other offensive player recovers the fumble in the end zone, the ball would go back to the spot where it was initially fumbled and the two point conversion would be nullified and ruled a failed attempt). The offense would receive one point for the conversion safety, and then they would kick off as they normally would after a touchdown.
1929 Rose Bowl1929 Rose BowlThe 1929 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game and the 15th annual Rose Bowl Game. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the California Golden Bears by a score of 8-7. The game was notable for a play by California All-American Roy Riegels in which he scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran...
On January 1, 1929, the CaliforniaUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Golden Bears
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may also refer to:* Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football bowl game in Pasadena, California* Rose Bowl , a football stadium in Pasadena, California...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Midway through the second quarter, Roy Riegels
Roy Riegels
Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels played for the University of California, Berkeley football team from 1927 to 1929...
, who played center, picked up a fumble by Tech's Jack "Stumpy" Thomason. Just 30 yards away from the Yellow Jackets' end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
Riegels scooped up the fumble, but somehow was turned around and ran 69 yards in the wrong direction.
Teammate and quarterback Benny Lom
Benny Lom
Benjamin "Benny" Lom was an American college football player who played for three seasons for the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears, and was best known for his attempt to stop his own teammate Roy Riegels after Riegels ran the ball 69 yards in the wrong direction during the 1929 Rose...
chased Riegels and screamed at him to stop. Lom finally caught up with Riegels at California's 3-yard line and tried to turn him around, but he was hit by a wave of Tech players and thrown back to the 1-yard line. The Bears chose to punt
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
rather than risk a play so close to their own end zone, but Tech's Vance Maree blocked Lom's punt for a safety, giving Georgia Tech a 2-0 lead.
Georgia Tech would ultimately win the game—and their second national championship—by a final score of 8-7.
The play is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football.
The Baugh/Marshall Rule
In the first quarter of the 1945 NFL Championship Game, the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
had the ball at their own 5-yard line. Dropping back into his own end zone, quarterback Sammy Baugh
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the Horned Frogs at Texas Christian University, where he was a two-time All-American. He then played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952...
threw, but the ball hit the goal post (which at the time were on the goal line instead of at the back of the end zone) and bounced back to the ground in the end zone. Under the rules at the time, this was ruled as a safety and thus gave the Cleveland Rams
Cleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio.The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League...
a 2-0 lead. The Rams went on to win 15-14, as the safety proved to be the margin of victory. Redskins owner George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall was the owner and president of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League from 1932 until his death in 1969.-Contributions:...
was so incensed at the outcome that he became a major force in passing the following major rule change after the season: A forward pass that strikes the goal posts is automatically ruled incomplete. This change later became known as the "Baugh/Marshall Rule". The rule later became superfluous when the goalposts were moved to the back of the end zone, eliminating the possibility of a forward pass striking them.
The wrong way run
On October 25, 1964, Minnesota VikingsMinnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
defensive end Jim Marshall
Jim Marshall (American football)
James "Jim" Lawrence Marshall played college football at the Ohio State University. He left school before his senior year, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then drafted in the 4th round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns...
recovered a San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
fumble but ran 66 yards the wrong way into his own end zone. He subsequently tossed the ball out of the end zone, thinking he had scored a touchdown. Instead, the 49ers were credited with two points (a safety). The Vikings still won, 27-22, with the game-winning play coming on a fumble recovery caused by Marshall.
Intentional safety gone awry
On November 21, 1998, Notre DameNotre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
hosted LSU in a college game. With Notre Dame leading 39-34 in the final seconds, Irish head coach Bob Davie ordered quarterback Jarious Jackson
Jarious Jackson
Jarious K. Jackson is an American and Canadian football quarterback who is currently playing for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.-High school:...
to kneel down in his own end zone after time had expired. However, just as Jackson knelt down to take the intentional safety, a pair of LSU defenders hit him and sprained his right MCL
Medial collateral ligament
The medial collateral ligament of the knee is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. It is also known as the tibial collateral ligament, or abbreviated as the MCL.- Structure :It is a broad, flat, membranous band,...
. Ranked #10 with a 9-1 record, Notre Dame needed just one more win at unranked USC to clinch a BCS
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
bowl game, but the Irish failed to score a point with two back-up quarterbacks at the helm in an eventual 10-0 loss. Notre Dame settled for a bid to the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, which the Irish lost 35-28 to #17 Georgia Tech.
Dan Orlovsky blunder
On October 12, 2008, Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
quarterback Dan Orlovsky
Dan Orlovsky
Daniel John Orlovsky is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. The Detroit Lions drafted Orlovsky in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
inadvertently ran out of the back of his own end zone in a game against the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. When the officials blew their whistles, Orlovsky did not know why the play was being stopped. According to Tom Pedula in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Orlovsky said, "When they started blowing the whistle, I was like, 'Did we false start or were they offsides or something?' Then I looked and I was like, 'You are an idiot.'" The two points proved to be the difference in a 12–10 Vikings victory. The media labeled the play as emblematic of the Lions' struggles during their eventual 0–16 season.
Instant replay oddity
On October 5, 2009, the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
faced the host Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. The Packers trailed the Vikings 28–14 mid-way through the 4th quarter. With the ball at the Green Bay one-yard line, the Packers attempted a pass from their own end zone. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen
Jared Allen
-Kansas City Chiefs:Allen was drafted by the Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and signed for a one-year, $100,000 contract. On May 21, 2007, Allen, as a restricted free agent, signed the Chiefs' one-year tender offer of $2.35 million for the 2007 season. Allen credited his early...
grabbed Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
from behind for a sack, with Rodgers appearing to fumble the ball at the one-yard line and Allen recovering. Referee Gene Steratore
Gene Steratore
Gene Steratore is an American football official in the National Football League since 2003. He began in the league as a field judge and was promoted to referee at the start of the 2006 NFL season, one of two new referees for that season, following the retirements of Bernie Kukar and Tom White...
ruled Vikings possession inside the one-yard line. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy challenged the play and asserted that Rodgers' knee was down in his own end zone before the fumble, asking Steratore to award the Vikings a safety and increase their lead to 30–14.
Strategically, the move made sense: the Vikings would have a 16-point lead (still a two-possession game—two touchdowns and two two-point conversions), and the Packers would be allowed to free kick from their own 20-yard line. Had McCarthy not challenged, the Vikings would still have led 28–14, but would have almost assuredly increased their lead to a three-possession game with a field goal or touchdown.
Steratore reversed his own ruling and awarded a safety to the Vikings. The Packers added a touchdown (missing a two-point conversion) and a field goal, but lost by the score of 30–23.
Super Bowl safeties
To this date, a safety has been scored in the Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
six times, with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
being involved in three such instances, scoring a safety in two instances and giving up a safety in another.
Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
In what had been a defensive struggle for most of the first half between the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, the only score in the first half came on a second quarter safety by the Steelers. Steelers defensive end Dwight White
Dwight White
Dwight Lynn White was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense....
had downed Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton
Fran Tarkenton
Francis Asbury "Fran" Tarkenton is a former professional football player, TV personality, and computer software executive....
in the end zone after Tarkenton landed on a Dave Osborn
Dave Osborn
Dave Osborn is a former professional American football player who played running back for twelve seasons for the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers....
fumble in the end zone which had been kicked toward the goal line by the Steelers' other defensive end, L.C. Greenwood. Aside from being the first Super Bowl safety, it was also notable in that White nearly missed the game due to a bout with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. The Steelers went on to win 16-6.
Super Bowl XSuper Bowl XSuper Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
The Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
trailed the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
10-7 early in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl X when Dallas punter Mitch Hoopes
Mitch Hoopes
Mitchell Kent Hoopes is a retired American basketball and football player. He had a three-year career in the National Football League from 1975 to 1977 as a punter. He played in Super Bowl X as a member of the Dallas Cowboys....
was forced to punt from inside his own goal line. As Hoopes stepped up to make the kick, Steelers running back Reggie Harrison
Reggie Harrison
The former Reggie Harrison was a professional American football running back for four seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Cardinals...
broke through the line and blocked the punt. The ball went through the end zone for a safety, cutting the Dallas lead to 10–9. Then Pittsburgh's Mike Collier
Mike Collier
Michael J. "Mike" Collier is a retired professional American football running back in the National Football League. He played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills....
returned the ensuing free kick 25 yards to the Cowboys 45-yard line. Roy Gerela
Roy Gerela
Roy Gerela is a former American football placekicker best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he won three Super Bowl rings....
later kicked a 36-yard field goal to give Pittsburgh its first lead of the game, 12–10, and the Steelers went on to repeat as Super Bowl champions with a 21-17 victory.
Super Bowl XXSuper Bowl XXSuper Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
In the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XX, the Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
scored a safety against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
when defensive lineman Henry Waechter
Henry Waechter
Henry Carl Waechter is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears, Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, and Washington Redskins...
sacked quarterback Steve Grogan
Steve Grogan
Steve James Grogan is a former American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Grogan played for the Patriots for his entire NFL career, from 1975 to 1990.-High school and college:...
into the end zone. Grogan had been the backup quarterback, and he had replaced Tony Eason
Tony Eason
Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason, IV is a former quarterback. He played college football for the University of Illinois and professional football for the New England Patriots and New York Jets .-Early years:Eason grew up in Walnut Grove, California, and attended Delta High School in Clarksburg,...
in the fourth quarter. Patriots coach Raymond Berry
Raymond Berry
Raymond Emmett Berry is a former football wide receiver. He played for the Baltimore Colts during their two NFL championship wins. He later had a career in coaching, highlighted by his trip to Super Bowl XX as head coach of the New England Patriots...
had placed Grogan in the game to give him a chance to play on the NFL's biggest stage, and he did throw a touchdown pass in the game. The Bears dominated the game, especially the second half, on both offense and defense, and won easily 46-10.
Super Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
In the second quarter of Super Bowl XXI, the New York GiantsNew York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
scored a safety against the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
when defensive end George Martin sacked John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
into the end zone, cutting the Broncos' 10-7 lead to 10-9. The Giants, who had been ahead earlier, would later retake the lead and go on to win the game 39-20.
Super Bowl XXVSuper Bowl XXVSuper Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
In the second quarter of Super Bowl XXV between the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Bills defensive end Bruce Smith sacked Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler
Jeff Hostetler
William Jeffrey Hostetler is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins. His nickname is "Hoss".-Penn State:...
in the end zone for a safety, giving the Bills a 12-3 lead. Buffalo ultimately lost the game 20-19 after their kicker, Scott Norwood
Scott Norwood
Scott Allan Norwood is a former American football placekicker in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. Norwood was an integral part of its offense during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and kicked in Buffalo's first two Super Bowl appearances...
, infamously missed the game-winning field goal
Wide Right (Buffalo Bills)
Wide Right or 47 Wide Right describes kicker Scott Norwood's missed 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of Super Bowl XXV on January 27, 1991.-The field goal attempt:...
as time expired.
Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
In the fourth quarter between the Steelers and the Arizona CardinalsArizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Steelers center Justin Hartwig
Justin Hartwig
Justin Hartwig is an American football center who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
committed a holding penalty
Penalty (American football)
In American football and Canadian football, a penalty is a sanction called against a team for a violation of the rules, called a foul. Officials initially signal penalties by tossing a bright yellow or orange colored "penalty flag" onto the field toward or at the spot of a foul...
in the Steelers own end zone, wiping out a 20-yard Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
pass to Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Ohio State...
on 3rd-and-10. The automatic safety would cut the Steelers lead to 20-16 (and subsequently put them behind 23-20 after Larry Fitzgerald
Larry Fitzgerald
Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League, and currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in receiving yards per game for a career , behind Andre Johnson, Torry Holt, and Marvin Harrison...
caught a 63-yard touchdown pass by Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner
Kurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner is a retired American football player. He played quarterback for three National Football League teams: the St. Louis Rams, the New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994 after playing...
on the Cardinals' ensuing drive after the free kick), but Pittsburgh went on to win 27-23. It remains the only time that a safety in the Super Bowl was the result of a penalty.
Games in which a team scored only a safety
According to Pro-Football Reference, only 36 games in NFL history (including the AFPA, AAFC and AFL, leagues that were later merged into the NFL) and only six since the NFL/AFL merger of 1970 have ended with one team scoring only a safety (or multiple safeties).| Date | Winner | Winning Score | Loser | Losing Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Pros | 2 | Buffalo All-Americans | 0 | |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 2 | Buffalo Rangers | 0 | |
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 2 | Green Bay Packers | 0 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 2 | Chicago Bears | 0 | |
| Chicago Bears | 2 | Green Bay Packers | 0 | |
| Dayton Triangles | 3 | Cleveland Indians | 2 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | Milwaukee Badgers | 2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | Chicago Bears | 2 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6 | Cleveland Browns | 2 | |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 7 | Hartford Blues | 2 | |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 7 | Chicago Cardinals | 2 | |
| New England Patriots | 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 9 | Chicago Cardinals | 2 | |
| Duluth Eskimos | 10 | Canton Bulldogs | 2 | |
| Racine Legion | 10 | Chicago Cardinals | 4^ | |
| Milwaukee Badgers | 13 | Oorang Indians | 2 | |
| Milwaukee Badgers | 13 | Racine Tornadoes | 2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 13 | Minnesota Vikings | 2 | |
| Columbus Tigers | 14 | Canton Bulldogs | 2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 14 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | 2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 14 | Chicago Bears | 2 | |
| Chicago Bears | 14 | Green Bay Packers | 2 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | |
| Chicago Bears | 20 | Cleveland Rams | 2 | |
| Providence Steam Roller | 21 | Canton Bulldogs | 2 | |
| New York Giants | 23 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 2+ | |
| Detroit Lions | 23 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 24 | San Diego Chargers | 2 | |
| New England Patriots | 24 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 27 | Chicago Cardinals | 2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 31 | Boston Redskins | 2 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 31 | New York Giants | 2 | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 34 | Denver Broncos | 2 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 35 | Chicago Hornets | 2 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 37 | New Orleans Saints | 2 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 45 | Baltimore Colts | 2 |
^ This is the only game in NFL history that finished with either the winning or the losing team scoring a total of 4 points.
+ This was the first ever game of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, thusly scoring the franchise's first points on a safety.
Records
The NFLNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
team record for safeties in a game is three, by the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on September 30, 1984. The individual record is two, by the Rams' Fred Dryer
Fred Dryer
John Frederick "Fred" Dryer is an American actor and former football defensive end in the National Football League . Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, playing 176 games, starting 166, and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams...
against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
on October 21, 1973. Ted Hendricks
Ted Hendricks
Theodore Paul Hendricks is a Hall of Fame former American football linebacker who logged 15 seasons for the Baltimore Colts , the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders in the National Football League...
and Doug English
Doug English
Lowell Douglas English is a former American football Defensive Tackle for the Detroit Lions...
share the NFL career record for safeties with four.
League-wide, the record for most safeties scored by all teams in a season is 26 in 1988. The fewest safeties scored across the league is 2, occurring in 1934. The season with the greatest frequency of safeties was 1932, with 8 safeties in 48 games (one safety every six games). The season with the lowest frequency of safeties was 1966, with 3 safeties in 105 games (one safety every 35 games).
Only two regular-season NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
games have ever ended in overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
with a safety: in 1989 when the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
defeated the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
23–21 when Mike Merriweather
Mike Merriweather
-External links:*.*....
blocked a punt into the end zone, and in 2004 when the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
19–17 when Billy Volek
Billy Volek
John William Volek is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He played college football at Fresno State.-Early years:Volek attended Clovis West High School in...
fumbled in his own end zone and a teammate recovered it but was unable to get out of the end zone. A 1989 pre-season game also ended in an overtime safety.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
does not keep individual statistics for safeties. Three Division I-A teams have scored three safeties in a game: Arizona State
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in 1996 (in a 19-0 victory over then-No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
, ending the Cornhuskers' 26-game winning streak); North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
in 2003; and Bowling Green
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
in 2005. In Division I-AA, the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
in 2007 scored only six points in a game, from three safeties against Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
. UMass had also scored three safeties in a game against Albany in 2005, a Division I-AA record. In 2004, when Iowa defeated Penn State 6–4, because of Iowa's two field goals and Penn State's two safeties, it was the only instance of such a score in the modern era, and it was the first time since Florida
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
lost to Miami 31-4 in 1987 that a team finished a game with exactly four points. The only other occasion on which a game ended with that score was when Rutgers defeated Princeton in 1869 by six "runs" to four in what is recognized as the first intercollegiate football game.