NFL Rules for a Touchback

In the National Football League, a touchback is a call by the referee that happens following approximately 10 percent of all kickoffs. The rules concerning touchbacks are quite simple, but the importance of these calls is sometimes underestimated. Knowing what a touchback is, what happens as a result and how they affect the game is part of a thorough understanding of professional football.

  1. Touchback Defined

    • A touchback, according to the NFL website, is a dead ball behind a team’s goal line that was put there by the opposing team and is not a field goal or a touchdown. That may seem a bit confusing, but the rule is actually very simple. The touchback happens whenever a punt or kickoff goes into the opponent’s end zone and is downed by an opposing player or it rolls out of bounds after entering the end zone.

      If an opposing player leaves the end zone with the ball without downing it as a touchback, the ball is alive and in play. Returning to the end zone after crossing the goal line to down the ball or being tackled in the end zone after initially leaving the end zone would be considered a safety. A safety is worth two points for the team not in possession of the ball.

    Starting Position

    • Whenever a touchback is called, the team receiving the ball gets to mark the ball at their own 20-yard line and begin their first set of downs from that spot. This guaranteed start at the 20 encourages teams who field kicks in the end zone to take a touchback instead of risking a run back that may end in a tackle inside the 20-yard line. Taking the touchback also prevents the possibility of a fumble on the return.

    Statistics Relevance

    • Touchbacks are typically viewed as an unimportant part of the game aside from the cheer that goes out to the kicker who boots the ball through the end zone to prevent any return. However, there is some statistical significance to touchbacks that may have more of an impact on the game than some fans realize.

      The average starting position for a team fielding a kickoff and electing to return it is the 32-yard line. This is a 12-yard advantage over the starting position for a touchback, which is the 20-yard line.

      According to AdvancedNFLStats.com, the way to realize the importance of the touchback is to think about it in terms of the number of first downs required to score a touchdown or field goal. The 12-yard advantage means there is one extra first down required to score a touchdown or to get into field goal range for an attempt. Since the average first down rate in the NFL is 67 percent, the statistics website says that a touchback will turn a touchdown into a field goal try and a field goal try into a punt around one-third of the time.