NFL Football Penalties

The types of penalties in NFL football are numerous. The penalties tend to be characterized but what happens to the penalized team. The severity of the offense determines how strong the penalty is. Many of the penalties have been designed to help protect the safety of the players.

  1. Five-yard Penalties

    • Five-yard penalties are the smallest penalties and can be for many different violations. Delay of game or kickoff, illegal formation, shift, motion, or substitution all result in this penalty. An error on the forward pass such as having ineligible receivers on or behind the line, or falling back behind the line after crossing it and throwing it both garner five-yard penalties.

      Other five-yard penalties have to do with timing such as failure to pause one second after shift or huddle. More than one man in motion, false start, or offside also draw a penalty. Accidentally grasping a facemask or an invalid fair catch signal will cause such a loss. Finally, there are numbers violations such as less than seven men on the offensive line at the snap of the ball, more than 11 players on the field or 12 men in the huddle.

    Ten-yard Penalties

    • There are significantly fewer ten-yard penalties as they are deemed bigger violations. Holding by the offense, which includes all illegal use of hands, arms, or body, is a ten-yard penalty. Tripping by a member of either team or helping the runner is not allowed. Deliberately batting, punching, or kicking a loose ball is ten-yards. Finally an illegal block above the waist or offensive pass interference will set you back ten yards.

    Fifteen-yard Penalties

    • Surprisingly there are actually more 15-yard penalties than ten, but they are all significant, most of them are about the safety of the players, which is why the punishment is so steep. Things such as using a chop block, clipping below the waist, piling on, roughing the kicker or passer, and twisting, turning or pulling an opponent by the facemask are all large offenses. Faircatch interference, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, and delay of game at the start of either half draw a 15-yard setback as well. Interesting fifteen-yard penalties include: leaping, leverage, taunting, and any player who removes his helmet after a play while still on the field.

    Combination Penalties

    • There are also combination penalties, designed to keep the game moving or significantly deter someone from breaking any of the rules. Five-yards and loss of down occurs if a forward pass is thrown from beyond the line of scrimmage. Ten-yards and loss of down results from intentional grounding of a forward pass; this rule only applies when the quarterback is still in the “pocket.”

    Unusual Penalties

    • Some penalties people do not even usually know about include 15-yards and loss of coin toss if the team is late to a scheduled kickoff or the captains do not appear for the coin toss. A touchdown can be awarded for a palpably unfair act if it deprived a team of a touchdown. The best example would be a player who is on the bench suddenly tripping or tackling a player running for the touchdown.

    Ejection from the Game

    • Finally the penalties that can get a player kicked out of the game might be considered by some as general rules of all games such as striking an opponent with your fist. Kicking or kneeing an opponent, striking him on the head or neck with forearms, elbows, or hands also can result in disqualification. Flagrant roughing the kicker or passer as well as malicious unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct or using your helmet in your hand as a weapon all result in ejection.