15 of the Strangest Things That Can Legally Happen In Football

A few weeks ago a blogger named Skip Oliva compiled a list of “Eight Crazy Constitutional Scenarios,” in which he laid out a list of several surprisingly radical things that could happen in the United States without running afoul of our founding document (at least not technically). At the time, I desperately wanted to blog about the list and maybe try to add to it, but was still on my self-imposed winter blogging break. And now that I’m back, I’m discovering that it’s much harder to come up with scenarios like these than I expected. Still, if there are two things I love in this world besides the Beatles, it’s loopholes and lists of trivia. So instead of constitutional trivia, I offer you this list of totally ridiculous things that can happen in an American football game. You know, so that you have something to keep an eye out for this coming Sunday if for some reason the half time show is lame and the commercials don’t live up to the hype.

Disclaimer: I am not an authority on the rules of football, so this should not be considered authoritative. If you’re an NFL ref reading this on your iPhone from the sideline of the big game, please stop. It will not help you as much as you think it will. Okay, now, on to the unlikely-but-possible scenarios, approximately in order of increasing awesomeness:

15. A Team Can Score 3 Points Without Kicking A Field Goal

I put this one at the bottom because it’s the one that the most people probably know about. It’s the one that, if, say, you’re a grad student trying to compile a list of weird NFL rules and you start asking all your football-savvy friends for their input, will come up over and over again even though its one of the few things you already knew. Still, if you haven’t encountered this before it’s rather nifty. It turns out that, after a punt or a kickoff that was fielded by fair catch, the team receiving the kick actually has two options: they can run a play from scrimmage (also known as “doing normal football things”) or they can attempt a type of free kick called a “fair catch kick.” If the kick goes through the uprights, they score three points. Of course, in this day and age it almost never happens that a team receives a fair catch in good enough field position that they would rather try a free kick than just run some plays, but it happens occasionally towards the end of a half, particularly if there simply isn’t time to run any other kind of play. In 1969 a fair-catch kick was actually the game-winning score in a game for the Chicago Bears, and a year later the Redskins just missed a similar kick that would have broken the tie. Since then, only one more fair-catch kick has been successful (by the 76 Chargers), although a number have been tried. Here’s CU Alum Mason Crosby trying one two years ago with the Packers from 69 yards, and coming just short. What a shame.

By the way, it may seem like splitting hairs to say that this isn’t a field goal, but as you can see in the video the two are actually fairly different. A free kick is basically a kickoff, although in a fair-catch kick you’re not allowed to use a tee. Nevertheless, because there’s no snap to worry about, and because the defense must line up at least 10 yards away, it’s much easier for the kicker to get a running start and really take a whack at the ball. I suspect someday we’ll see some points scored from 65 yards or more on one of these.

14. A Team Can Automatically Lose the Coin Toss

This one’s a lot more straightforward. You know what happens if you don’t get the right players on the field fast enough, right? You’re called for delay of game, which usually means a 5 yard penalty. But if in particular you delay the game by not bringing your team out fast enough at the start of the game, or if your team captain doesn’t take the field in a timely manner for the coin toss, the rulebook says you automatically forfeit the toss and the other team is given the choice of whether to receive. Seems weirdly specific to me, but they must have figured they needed it on the books at some point…

13. A Team Can Attempt a Punt and Wind Up With a First Down (without gaining any yards or drawing a penalty)

If it’s fourth down and long, you punt the ball. If the punt is blocked, then even if you recover the ball, you probably didn’t gain enough yards for a first down, and the other team will take over anyway. But there’s an exception, and that’s if the ball manages to cross the line of scrimmage and touch a defensive player. In that situation, it’s considered a live punt, no matter whether the ball travels 20 yards past or whether it simply rolls an inch past the line of scrimmage and touches a linebacker’s toe. Once that happens, like any punt that is touched by the receiving team, it becomes a live ball. If one of the linemen on the kicking team happens to fall on it, it’s their ball again. And here’s the thing: since they technically DID punt the football, but just recovered it right away, they get a whole new set of downs, even if they didn’t actually gain any yardage.

This actually happened a few years ago in a chargers game, much to the frustration of the Chiefs, who they were playing. Fortunately I was able to find a description of the play on an NFL fan blog, which also gives a good explanation why this is a sensible rule.

12. A Team Can Get a Second Chance at an Onside Kick

Usually, if you’re in a situation where an onside kick is called for, and you don’t manage to recover it, you’re done for. Unless, for some reason, the ball goes out of bounds without being touched or fails to go the necessary 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. If those things happen on a regular kick, it’s a huge penalty and the other team gets the ball anyway. But strangely, if it happens on an onside kick you’re assessed a measly 5 yard penalty and just get to kick again! Don’t worry however; just like in tennis, you only get two. After the second one goes out of bounds, the other team takes over at the spot of the kick.

11. A Player Can Be Penalized For Playing Leapfrog

Actually, they can be penalized for any attempt to “push or pull against another player in an effort to gain extra height or speed.” It’s called “Illegal Leverage,” and it’s meant to prevent players from trying elaborate things to block a field goal, but I like the thought that two disgruntled players goofing around and playing leapfrog during a kickoff could suddenly cost their team 15 yards. And while we’re at it, why don’t we allow the players to give each other boosts in an effort to block more kicks? I’m pretty sure more blocked kicks and more human pyramids made of 300-pound linebackers would be GREAT for the game…

10. A Team Can Completely Botch The Snap Without Any Worry That They Will Lose Possession

Of course, the boring way to do this is just to have a good offensive line. But lets say you’re the quarterback, you’re just starting to get set under the center and suddenly you see that he’s started to snap the ball before you were ready. Maybe you were playing at the old Mile High Stadium by the south stands, and the noise made it impossible for him to hear your snap count, who knows. Whatever the reason, you have nothing to fear, just widen your stance and get your hands the heck out of the way. That’s because, as Brian Griese figured out while playing for Chicago a few years back, there’s a rule on the books that says if the quarterback is lined up under the center (not shotgun) and the snap goes clean between his legs without being touched, it’s not a fumble. It would be if it goes past his hip, or if it goes over his head, whether or not he touches it. But for some reason, the through-the-legs snap is magically protected and can’t be recovered by the defense. Of course, his center is going to be called for a false start, but at least you can take your time recovering the ball

9. A Team Can Attempt a Field Goal More Than Once In a Single Set of Downs (Without Penalties)

Usually, a field goal is absolutely the end of a drive. Usually you score three points. Less often, you miss and turn the ball over on downs. Even less often, it’s blocked, but if it is, the defense automatically recovers if it goes out of bounds, and only the defense can attempt to recover the ball once it’s crossed the line of scrimmage.

Of course, it’s possible that the defense recovers and then immediately fumbles again, but that’s no fun. What’s also true is that as long as the ball hasn’t crossed the line of scrimmage, the kicking team can still recover the ball, and they can advance it. So it’s possible a team could attempt a field goal on fourth down, and if the ball is blocked and bounces backwards, the punter could recover the ball and run (or even pass!) for the first down instead. But perhaps even more intriguingly, if the team attempts the field goal on, say, first or second down, and the above scenario plays out, they can just fall on the ball and try again one play later! Bill Cohwer, known to have an encyclopedic knowledge of football rules that rivals his temper in scope, has taken advantage of this fact on a number of occasions, kicking a field goal on second or third down just in case it is blocked. Usually it doesn’t matter, because as soon as the ball crosses the line of scrimmage the drive is over–in other words, if you miss a field goal on second down you don’t get to try again. But if, heaven forbid, it’s blocked, and you can recover behind the line of scrimmage, it might just make the difference between winning and losing, and Bill Cohwer’s strange habits might just make him look like a genius.

8) An Eligible Receiver Can Be Intentionally Knocked to the Ground Deep Downfield Without Drawing an Interference Flag

If you’re a wide receiver in an offense in punting formation, be careful. After all, as Note5 of Article 5 of Section 2 under Rule 8 clearly states, “Whenever a team presents an apparent punting formation, defensive pass interference is not to be called for action on the end man on the line of scrimmage.” Now, if you’re actually planning to punt, this is no big deal, because you expect to get roughed up as part of the receiving team’s blocking strategy. But, as Eric Bassey found out during an unfortunate game in 2008, the phrase “apparent punting formation” means it applies to fake punts too. Which means that if you expected yourself to be the surprise intended receiver, you may instead find yourself receiving a surprise injury time out, because that cornerback can do whatever he wants to you.

7) A (College) Offense Can Line Up In Such a Way That the Defense Has No Idea Who the Elligible Receivers Are

Alright, this is where things start to get awesome. About two years ago, some very inventive coaches in a high school league in California invented something called the A-11 offense. A-11 refers to “all eleven,” and it refers to the number of players on the offense that the defense has to be prepared to cover. Of course, at least five of the players on field for the offense must be offensive linemen, who are inelligible to catch a pass and therefore shouldn’t be a real threat. But in high school and college ball, the only way the defense knows who is a lineman and who is a receiver is by their position on the field and the number on their jerseys. And because of a loophole in the rules at the time, as long as a team is in a “scrimmage kick” formation (i.e., lined up like they’re punting), the usual jersey rules don’t apply. That means you can put nine men all in a row on the line of scrimmage with a quarterback and a running back alone in the backfield. You have to tell the referee that five of the men up front are linemen, but this information isn’t announced to the defense. Until the moment the ball is snapped, they won’t have any idea who to cover and who to try to pass rush against, which will force them to play it absurdly safe or risk getting burned in a big way. Plus, since your quarterback will be lined up way back where the punter should be (farther back than even a regular shotgun), he’ll have some extra time to get a pass off even if someone comes through unblocked.

Tragically, two years after this offensive trick emerged it was made illegal by the federation that governs high school football. It lives on in college, however, albeit in a weakened state. College rules say that you are not allowed to line up in a punt formation unless a kick seems like “a reasonable possibility,” which basically restricts the use of the A-11 offense to fourth down. Nevertheless, its power to surprise and befuddle a defense might make it a good way for a team to pick up a clutch first down when facing dire straights, and it’s probably a lot better than a fake punt if you’ve practiced with it enough.

There’s a lot of information on the A-11 offense available on the web, but if you want more details you should start here and here. A clip of the A-11 in action can be seen below. I encourage you to try it out in your next pickup game; its almost like the creation of an all-new sport. See also the “Emory and Henry” formation.

6) A Team Can Be Awarded a Touchdown Without Ever Crossing the Goal Line

It’s in the list of penalties: for a sufficiently despicable enough personal foul (the official term is “a palpably unfair act,”) that likely deprived the offense a touchdown, the officials can award them one anyway. Think of it as goaltending, but in a football setting. Of course, football is a rough game so it takes quite a bit of effort to be “palpably unfair.” The example given in the book is for the case where a player on the sidelines runs onto the field and tackles a player on his way to the end zone. But it’s not explicit about the fact that the player must have had an unimpeded path to the goal line, they just need to have been “able to score.” So the next time you’re illegally betting against an NFL team that you’re an athletic trainer for, remember the surest way to guarantee a touchdown on a big play is to go and try to make the stop yourself.

Also, if you’re one of the league’s chubbier coaches (Holmgren, I’m looking at you) you should do this as well, if only for how incredibly funny it will look for the rest of us.

5) A Team Can Accidentally Disqualify Its Top Two Quarterbacks From Playing

After the infamous 1990 “body bag game” between the Redskins and Eagles, in which injuries piled up on both sides and the Redskins starting and backup QB’s were both knocked out of play, the NFL changed the rules to allow teams to keep a third-stringer around at quarterback position. Along with this rule, however, came a caveat: if you put your third stringer in at any point before the end of the third quarter, your top two quarterbacks may not return for the rest of the game. And as far as I can tell, it doesn’t say he has to come in at quarterback. So be careful– if your third string guy tells you at the very beginning of the game that he knows a great trick play where the quarterback tosses him the ball in a fake reverse and then he throws it deep to Randy Moss, don’t let him talk you into it. It’s all a ploy on his part to get himself a big stretch of playing time.

4) A Player Can Be Credited With a Receiving TD and a Passing TD… on the Same Play.

This is another one that has actually happened, albeit at the high school level. It seems that last year, an all-star named Joe Sobucki from a high school in Pennsylvania lined up in the backfield, took the snap, threw a short screen pass to his tailback, and then ran forward to help block. Only at that point, his tailback noticed he was in trouble and lateraled back to Sobucki… who promptly broke free of the pack and ran for 79 yards to the endzone. The result had the defense scratching their heads, but also the statisticians charged with keeping track of the players numbers. The eventual verdict was this: Since Sobucki had thrown the initial forward pass, and since the result of the pass was that a touchdown was scored 86 yards later, he would be given credit for throwing an 86 yard TD. Since he did not catch a forward pass, but only a lateral, he would not be given credit for a catch. However, somebody had to be given credit for the touchdown run, and the only logical somebody was still Sobucki, who was given 79 receiving yards and a “receiving touchdown,” all on a play where he had zero “receptions.” Video of the play is available in the link above.

3) A Player Can Gain His Team Up To 40 Yards of Field Position Without Taking a Single Forward Step

This one is just brilliant. in a 2008 game against the Bills, Leon Washington of the Jets was back deep to receive a kickoff when he noticed that the kick was a little sloppy and headed towards the sideline. Washington knew, like most people do, that if the kickoff went out of bounds before he touched it, the Bills would be given a penalty for kicking out-of-bounds. And he knew it would be a big penalty, too; out-of-bounds kicks give the receiving team their choice of the ball at the place where it went out, or at the 40 yard line (which is almost always better). So Washington prepared to let the ball sail outside of the white lines.

As the ball got closer, however, he realized he’d slightly misjudged the kick. Or perhaps the wind had given it a slight nudge towards the center of the field. Either way, it was looking like it was going to bounce inside, and that was a very bad situation for Washington. At that point, he was back at his own eight yard line, and it seemed like his options were bleak. It was too late to call for a fair catch, and he wasn’t in a good position to attempt a run. If he didn’t touch the ball it might go out of bounds, but there was just as good a chance it would bounce back inwards, maybe even backwards, where some Buffalo player could down it at the five (UPDATE: My friend Chris astutely points out that I must have been thinking of a punt when I wrote this. On a kickoff, the ball is live after it has travelled ten yards, even if untouched by the receiving team, so letting it bounce would definitely not have been an option for Washington).

And then Washington remembered that there is more than one way for a ball to be declared “out of bounds.” It can go out on its own, of course. But it can also be ruled out if it touches a player who is already out of bounds. And while going out of bounds and coming back in is a big penalty (going out, coming back in and then touching the ball is an even bigger one), there’s nothing against the rules about going out and staying out. So Washington put his right foot on the sideline, making himself an out-of bounds player. Then with the rest of his body he leaned in as far as he could towards the field, and snatched the ball, making what would have been a perfectly legal kick that could have been downed deep in Jets territory an illegal out-of-bounds kick that the Jets would get almost all the way near midfield. It was a clever play worth 32 yards of field position, and it could have been worth as many as 40. And it didn’t require any running on Washington’s part at all.

2) A Team Can Win an Overtime Game by Nine Points

This one wasn’t possible in the past, but starting this very year the NFL has adopted a new set of overtime rules for that apply to playoff games only. Instead of pure sudden death (which gave too much of an advantage to whoever won the coin toss, it was deemed), now it takes more than just a field goal to win an overtime game. Now, only a touchdown on your opening drive is good enough to win it. But unless that happens, both teams are guarunteed the “opportunity of a possession.” The intention is that if all you can do is score a field goal, the other team has a chance to try to do you one better and score a touchdown to win the game immediately. If they can’t score at all, of course you win. But if they also manage a field goal, then overtime continues, sudden-death style until the next time someone puts points on the board.

That means, of course, that if you get the ball first in overtime and score a field goal, then the other team gets the ball back and you have a chance to try to force a turnover. If you do, in most cases the game ends immediately, because they had their one possession and they blew it. But lets say it’s a nice clean open field pick. Obviously the smart thing to do is just down yourself and let the game be over. But the instinct to “run it back” has got to be pretty powerful. And the NFL rules have always been clear about the fact that the game doesn’t end until the last play ends, no matter how long that play might take, nor whether there’s any time on the clock. So if you’re already up three in overtime and you snag a pick and run it back, the game doesn’t end until you hit the endzone, at which point your team is ahead by nine. Of course, forcing a safety in a similar scenario would also allow you to win by five, and would probably be much more likely. But not nearly as cool.

By the way, oddities like this in the new postseason overtime rules have been criticized a bit lately, but even if it needs a bit of tweaking to make the wording airtight I think the new system is a clear step in the right direction. I’ve always hated the sudden-death NFL rules, but I didn’t like the old college “extra quarter” very much either (too boring) and I don’t much care for the new “everybody gets a try from the twenty” plan which just feels weirdly constructed and unlike a regular game of football. To me, the new NFL system is a brilliant compromise.

1) A College Team Can Score Only a Single Point in a Game (Without a Forfeiture)

This one tops the list for me, hands down, because I have a personal connection to it. As a little kid learning the rules of football, I used to like to try to figure out which scores were “possible” in a football game. For example, at first glance it seems like it would be hard to score four points, but of course you can do it with two safeties. It’s incredibly rare (it has happened only once, and that was in 1923 when the Chicago Cardinals lost to the “Racine  Legion,” whoever that is) but the point is it can happen. And if you think about it long enough, trying out any of the unusual numbers you don’t “usually” see in football like 11 and 16, you’ll quickly begin to convince yourself that just about any score is possible, however unlikely. I spent quite a bit of time as a kid (while walking to school or trying to get to sleep, usually) trying to think of an impossible football score. Incidentally there’s quite a good mathematical lesson in all this: sometimes it’s just easier to prove that something is true than it is to try to find a counterexample. Since you can score two points in football, you can score any even number of points just be getting enough safeties. And since you can also score three, you can score any odd number of points as well, just by scoring the right number of safeties and then scoring a field goal. Silly eight-year-old Colin.

But I’m digressing. There is, of course, one rather trivial “impossible score,” of course, and thats just plain “one.” After all, if you have to score in units of two, three, six, seven, or eight, then you can’t very well wind up with just one. But it turns out that, at least where college ball is concerned, there’s actually something wrong with that assumption.

I’m not talking about the fact that when a team forfeits a game in college ball the official score is recorded as 1-0. That’s just stupid, and it isn’t really the score of “the game,” it’s just a bookkeeping trick so that a team doesn’t get any more credit than necessary for a win it didn’t have to work for. No, it can be done in an actual hour of play. The team would necessarily lose (i.e. you can’t win the game by a score of one to nothing), but their final score could be just “one.” Let me explain.

First, some background. In college football, there exists a strange rule called a “conversion safety,” which is just what it sounds like: a safety that occurs during the attempt at a one or two-point conversion. This itself is extremely rare, and has occurred only once. The most likely scenario for such a thing is that, during a regular extra-point attempt, the kick is blocked and the defense recovers in or near the endzone. Hoping to run it back, they do not kneel down and take the voluntary touchback. Instead they start to run, maybe dipping back into the endzone to try to find an opening. They are then tackled unexpectedly.

Since they were tackled in their own end zone, it’s a safety. But (I suppose since they were at the disadvantage of being forced to start so close to their end zone for a PAT attempt) it’s only worth one point. In this situation, however, the result would simply be that the original team would be up 7-0, since they scored 6 points on the touchdown and 1 point on the conversion safety. Interestingly, the same thing can happen in pro football, but only during a two-point conversion, and it is still only worth one point. It has happened, but if it ever does I expect it will create a strange situation of its own, like a team trying to score the game-winning two-point conversion and suddenly discovering they’ve only managed to tie!

Still, neither of these situations is what concerns us now. In the above scenario, the offense scores one point, but only after already having scored six, just like a regular extra point kick. That’s no fun. And in the NFL, that’s the only way a conversion safety can play out. The defense cannot score a conversion safety.

In college, however, that’s not true. It would be absurdly unlikely that such a thing could occur, but it’s technically possible (something to try next time you’re playing NCAA football on your Xbox, maybe). Picture this: The game is scoreless. Two arch rivals have been slugging it out all game, and it’s been a taught defensive contest. Finally, one team breaks through on a big play and scores a touchdown. They lead, six nothing. They go for two, just to rub it in (I did say they were bitter rivals), but the receivers run the wrong routes, and it’s a busted play. The safety on the other team sees the fear in the quarterback’s eyes and steps right in front of his desperation pass, snatching it out of the air and taking off down the sideline. The quarterback, realizing he is going to return it for a touchdown and in all likelihood take the lead, takes off after him. This being college, the quarterback actually has some speed and agility, so he starts closing the distance. The safety doesn’t notice; he has tunnel vision, both literally from his helmet and figuratively because he is determined to score the go-ahead touchdown against his hated rivals, especially after their little “running-up-the-score-and-going-for-two” stunt. “I’ll show them,” he thinks, and to rub it in he starts to slow down. He stretches the ball out to his side and strikes a Heisman pose, just two yards from the end zone. That’s when the quarterback finally catches up.

The ball is swatted loose*. There’s a quick moment of confusion as the safety spins around to see what is going on. The quarterback tries to dive for the ball but the safety is in the way; he loses his footing and falls to the ground. The ball has now bounced into the endzone– not the end zone on the other end of the field, where the two-point conversion was attempted, but the end zone on the other side. The Quarterback’s end zone. He knows what’s at stake here. If the safety regains possession, it is at minimum a tie game. He scrambles forward, dives on the ball. He tries to get up; the play is not over yet. Maybe he can run it all the way back and still get that too point conversion…

But it is too late. The safety has finally regained his wits, and he pounces, downing the quarterback in his own end zone. That’s a safety, for sure, but since it occurred during a conversion, it’s not a real safety. It’s a conversion safety, and it’s only worth one point. that makes the score six to one.

Both teams fight valiantly for the rest of the game, but no more points are put on the board. The emotions on both sides are simply running too hot; the offense is making mistakes, the defense is fired up and sacking quarterbacks left and right. A last second free-kick stunt is attempted from 69 yards (see above), but it falls just short. The buzzer sounds. The game is over.

And 8-year-old Colin is thrilled to discover that it really is possible to score only one point.

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* See comments below: the situation at the end would have to play out slightly differently (and even more improbably). But the one-point safety can still technically occur as a team’s only score.