The NFL Rules for a Drop Kick

The Miami Dolphins were understandably befuddled in January 2006 when New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie attempted--and converted--the first drop-kick extra point in more than six decades. The dropkick has been an obscure part of football lore. While its use has vanished from the game, it remains a legal maneuver in the NFL rulebook. Understandably, many people wrongly assume a dropkick is the same as a punt. The difference is that dropkicks must be done after the ball touches the ground, whereas punts are dropped straight onto the foot.

  1. Drop Kick Extra Point

    • Rule 3, Section 8, of the NFL rulebook defines a drop kick as "a kick by a kicker who drops the ball and kicks it as, or immediately after, it touches the ground." While this has always been allowed under the rules, no NFL player attempted a drop-kick extra point for more than 60 years. After Ray McLean drop-kicked the point-after for the Chicago Bears in the 1941 NFL Championship Game, it vanished from the game until the last week of the 2005 regular season. Then, New England Patriots backup quarterback Doug Flutie converted in a 28-26 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

    Drop Kick Field Goal

    • The same rule that allows dropkicks for points after touchdown applies to field goal attempts as well. Prior to 1934, when the NFL redesigned the ball with its now familiar prolate spheroid shape, the dropkick was more common; the rounder ball made the bounce off the ground more predictable.

      Paddy Driscoll was arguably the most proficient field goal dropkicker. He held the record for longest drop-kick field goal, 50 yards, and coheld the record for drop-kicking four field goals in one game--at least until the NFL removed the category of dropkicks from the record book in 1963 when they were thought to have become too archaic. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the last successful drop-kick field goal--prior to the 2010 season--was believed to be Earl "Dutch" Clark's 17-yarder for the Detroit Lions in 1937.

    Fair Catch Kick

    • The NFL rule book allows for a very odd way to receive a fair catch: immediately dropkick it for a field goal. According to the rulebook, "After a fair catch, the receiving team has the option to put the ball in play by a snap or a fair catch kick (field goal attempt), with fair catch kick lines established ten yards apart. All general rules apply as for a field goal attempt from scrimmage. The clock starts when the ball is kicked."

      No kicking tee is allowed, so the ball must be drop-kicked or placed.
      NFL Assistant Supervisor of Officials Art McNally admitted in 2004 that the NFL has no way of knowing how many fair catch kicks have been attempted, since it does not show up in any archived box scores. At the time, McNally said, "I would be willing to bet that it would be no more than six...all-time."