Short kickoff in gridiron football to try to keep possession of the ball
Penn State lined up for an onside kick.
In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team kicks the ball far downfield in order to maximize the distance the receiving team has to advance the ball in order to score. The risk to the team attempting an onside kick is that if it is unsuccessful the receiving team gets the ball and usually has a much better field position than with a normal kickoff.
The onside kick has a low success rate, though its chances of success increase in a situation where the returning team does not expect it. It is generally only seen late in a game when a team has just scored but is still trailing by 8 points or fewer (the most points that can be scored on a single possession) and needs to regain possession in order to score again before time expires.
Gridiron football originates in rugby football and so does the onside kick. In rugby, while the forward pass is prohibited, a team in possession may legally kick the ball downfield and recapture possession, provided that the receiver of the kick was onside when the kick was made (i.e., abreast with or behind the kicker.)
This form of onside kick is still legal in Canadian football, just as in rugby. A player of the kicking team (at any kick, not just a free kick) who is "onside" may recover the ball and retain possession for his team. This includes the kicker himself and anyone else behind the ball at the time it was kicked, other than the holder for a place kick.
The form of onside kick available at a free kick in American football is also available in Canadian football for a kickoff as well, although it is referred to as a short-kick, as all players are onside for a kickoff; however, the kick may well be chipped high instead of bounced, because the players of the receiving team have no particular first right to the ball as in American football (due to the fair catch rule); both sides may play the ball equally, even in the air.
Modern American football usage
Starting in 1923, the following additional constraints in most forms of American football are relevant to the onside kick:
The kick must be a free kick (a kickoff, or free kick after a safety; in high school football, but not the NFL, the rare fair catch kick can also be recovered onside).
The kick must cross the receiving team's restraining line (normally 10 yards in front of the kicking team's line), unless the receiving team touches the ball before that line.
The kicking team may only recover and retain possession of the kicked ball, but not advance it.
The kicking team must not interfere with an attempt by a player of the receiving side to catch the ball on the fly.[1]
California lines up to attempt an onside kick against Oregon State in a November 2009 American football game. Oregon State recovered the ball.
Unlike during a punt—where if the kicking team catches or recovers the ball, it is "downed" and the receiving team possesses the ball—during a free kick, a ball that has crossed the receiving team's restraining line is normally a live ball, such that if the kicking team catches or recovers the ball it retains possession.[2] "Onside" is therefore now a misnomer in American football; an onside kick is simply any free kick that is kicked in a particular way to give the kicking team the best chance of regaining possession—typically in a diagonal direction and as close to the advancing players from the kicking team as possible.
The kicking team generally attempts to make the ball bounce early (to remove the possibility of being charged with interfering with a catch) and be available around 20 yards in front of the spot of the kick. One technique, useful especially on a hard or artificial surface, is to kick the ball in a way that it spins end-over-end near the ground and makes a sudden bounce high in the air. The oblong shape of an American football makes it bounce unpredictably, increasing the possibility that the receiving team will muff the catch. An alternative is to kick the ball with a great deal of force directly at an opposing player. If the ball touches the player, but he cannot secure it, it becomes live regardless of whether it has traveled 10 yards.
When the receiving team expects an onside kick, it often fields a "hands team" of players skilled at catching or otherwise securing the ball. This is so they can make sure of securing possession once the ball has traveled the necessary 10 yards—the receiving team cannot simply refuse to touch the ball, as the ball is live once it has traveled 10 yards and can be claimed by either team; thus, if the receiving team does not make a play on the ball, it makes it a lot easier for the kicking team to do so and take possession.
Traditionally, the onside kick had its own formation, in which the other ten players of the kicking team would line up on one side (left or right) of the kicker, in an effort to get as many people as possible into one area of the field. This is still popular in high school football; however, the NCAA (and later the NFL) now require that at least four players line up on each side of the kicker. To combat this, some teams (including the Buffalo Bills, who pioneered this strategy[3]) developed a "cluster formation" in which all of the players line up behind and immediately next to the kicker in what is effectively a moving huddle. The NFL eventually banned this, too, with a 2009 rule change that states that "the kicking team cannot have more than five players bunched together"; the rule change has been considered a gratuitous targeting of Bills special teams coach Bobby April, as the ostensible reason for the ban (injury risk) had negligible evidence to support it.[3] Effective with the 2018 season, the NFL requires that the kicking team line up with five players on each side of the ball. Additionally, the kicking team's players must line up in a specified configuration—on each side of the ball, at least two players must be between the sideline and the numbered yard markings, and at least two must line up between the numbers and hashmarks. At the same time, the NFL also required that at least eight members of the receiving team line up within the 15-yard "setup zone" (between 10 and 25 yards from the kickoff spot).[4]
In 2018, the NFL also mandated that no member of the kicking team, apart from the kicker, could line up more than 1 yard from the spot of the kickoff. Previously, all members of the kicking team could line up as many as 5 yards from the kickoff spot, allowing that team to make a running start toward an onside kick.[4]
The Denver Broncos (blue) attempting an onside kick in the fourth quarter against the St. Louis Rams on November 28, 2010, while trailing by three points. Denver did not recover. The Broncos' formation is now illegal in the NFL.
An onside kick is usually a desperation technique used when the kicking team trails in the score with little time left in the game, in order to regain the ball and score again. The trade-off is that, in the usual case that the receiving team does get possession of the ball, it will have better field position and will need to advance the ball fewer yards in order to score. However, in the desperation situation, initial field position becomes less relevant, as the receiving team may focus on running the clock out and ending the game. If the kicking team succeeds in retaining possession, then the clock does not automatically stop as it would if the ball were transferred between teams (though it may stop for other reasons).
Occasionally, football coaches attempt surprise onside kicks to catch their opponent's players off guard and without the "hands team" on the field. Notable examples from championship games include Super Bowl XXX, where Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher called an onside kick early in the fourth quarter when trailing 20–10, which was successfully recovered, and Super Bowl XLIV, where the New Orleans Saints executed an onside kickoff to start the second half and successfully converted the possession into a touchdown. In the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship, with the score tied at 24–24 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Alabama Crimson Tide successfully executed an onside kick against the Clemson Tigers, which led to a touchdown that gave Alabama the lead and eventual victory.
An onside kick is considered successful if the kicking team regains the ball. Between 2001 and 2010, surprise onside kicks were successful 60% of the time, while expected onside kicks were successful less than 20% of the time.[5] Another study of just the 2005 and 2006 seasons also found similar disparities depending on whether the defense expects an onside kick.[6] Accordingly, some analysts have suggested that the surprise onside kick is underutilized.[7] In 2014, the Indianapolis Colts routinely used the onside kick, with three in the first 6 games of the season, often at the start of the game. Each of these was successful.
Overall, the success rate of the onside kick has dropped considerably since these rule changes. In the 2018 NFL season, only four of 52 kicks (8%) were successful, a figure that had dropped to 6% (two of 32) through the first eleven weeks of 2019.[8]
Furthermore, for the 2024 season, the NFL adopted a new kickoff procedure that banned surprise onside kicks. Teams are now required to announce any onside kick attempts to officials before the play, and these may only be attempted in the 4th quarter.[9]
Offside "onside" kicks
There have been versions of American football where the kicking team could recover the ball once it hit the ground, regardless of onside or offside, and not only for free kicks. Any such kick recovered by the kicking team is often referred to as an "onside kick," even if the recovering player was in front of the kicker at the time of the kick (and thus, according to the original definition, offside).
One such scenario remains legal at all levels: any player on the offensive team can recover a kick anywhere on or behind the line of scrimmage.
College football
These were also referred to as "onside kicks from scrimmage."[10]Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin was a prime innovator in this field,[11] and in fact in 1921 tied Georgia for the Southern crown on such a play.[12]
"Instead of keeping the ball in the air it should be kicked to the ground as soon as the case will permit, since the moment it touches, the whole team is on-side. The longer the kicker can delay kicking the further down the field the team can get to either recover the ball themselves or form interference for the player who is supposed to recover."[13]
In these early years and into the 1920s, all players of the kicking team except the kicker were permitted to recover the ball once it hit the ground beyond the neutral zone. Later, the rules were modified to require it be at least 20 yards downfield, before recovering one's own kick was eventually eliminated outright.
Professional football
One such version, Arena football, is current; however, it must be taken from either a place kick or drop kick, because punts are illegal in that league. Arena football also has the advantage in that it features rebound nets surrounding the goal posts; thus, unlike in the outdoor game, a potential onside kick receiver does not have to outrun the speed of the kicked ball, and the kicker can carom the ball off the net in hopes of it landing in his teammate's arms.
The XFL, in its 2001 season, allowed a punting team to recover its own kick if the punt went at least 25 yards past the line of scrimmage. The 2020 revival of the XFL did not revive this rule.
The idea of the early 20th century, XFL, and Arena rules allowing kicking side recovery on grounded balls was generally to force the receiving team to play the ball, encourage surprise quick kicking, and thereby loosen the defense. However, kicks have rarely been employed as offensive tactics even when these rules were present; the forward pass remains the more effective (and substantially less risky) tactic to loosen and surprise the defense.
Alternatives to onside kicks
The Alliance of American Football, which played a partial season in 2019, eliminated all kickoffs, including onside kicks. The AAF's substitute for onside kicks was an "onside conversion", essentially an attempt to convert a 4th-and-12. This was allowed in only two situations:
Five minutes or less remained in the fourth quarter, or
The team attempting the conversion was trailing by at least 17 points.
After scoring a touchdown, a team could opt to try an onside conversion from its own 28-yard line. After giving up a safety, a team could opt to try an onside conversion from its own 18-yard line. In both cases, the team had to gain at least 12 yards on that play to maintain possession. Otherwise, the opponent gained possession at the final spot of the play.[14][15]
The Denver Broncos proposed adding a slightly modified version of the AAF's onside conversion rule to the NFL rules for the 2019 NFL season.[16] The Broncos' proposal would make the attempt a 4th-and-15 from the attempting team's 35-yard line. Additionally, this proposal would have allowed each team to run this play only once per game, and only in the fourth quarter. When first proposed, the NFL's competition committee voted 7–1 in favor of the change, but it failed to receive the required two-thirds majority approval from the league owners at their March 2019 meeting. The proposed rule change was revisited at the next NFL owners' meeting in 2020 but was not approved.[8]
For the 2020 Pro Bowl, the NFL announced a special onside conversion rule, essentially using the Broncos' proposal above, except the 4th-and-15 is attempted from the team's own 25-yard line.[17]
Fan Controlled Football, which has no kicking, offers the onside conversion; teams must gain 10 yards from their own 10-yard line.
The 2022 version of the USFL has kickoffs, but also offers the onside conversion, with teams required to gain 12 yards from their own 33-yard line.
Rugby
Most kick-offs in rugby union are similar to the onside kick: the kick-off is directed a minimum of ten metres forward and both teams attempt to recover the ball. In both codes of rugby during live play, the bomb or "up and under" involves kicking the ball forward with a very high trajectory then the kicker and other on-side players rushing forward in an attempt to recover the ball.
Canadian football, or simply football, is a sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field 110 yards (101 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's end zone.
In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel over or across the goal line but did not have possession of the ball when it became dead. Since the 2018 season, touchbacks have also been awarded in college football on kickoffs that end in a fair catch by the receiving team between its own 25-yard line and goal line. In the 2023 season, the NFL adopted the same rules as college football in regards to awarding touchbacks on kickoffs that end in a fair catch. In 2024, the NFL moved the placement of the ball after a touchback on a kickoff to the receiving team's 30-yard line; this was part of a radical change to the league's kickoff procedure. Such impetus may be imparted by a kick, pass, fumble, or in certain instances by batting the ball. A touchback is not a play, but a result of events that may occur during a play. A touchback is the opposite of a safety with regard to impetus since a safety is scored when the ball becomes dead in a team's end zone after that team — the team whose end zone it is — caused the ball to cross the goal line.
This is a glossary of terms used in Canadian football. The Glossary of American football article also covers many terms that are also used in the Canadian version of the game.
Legally positioned at the kick-off or the snap. On kick-offs, members of the kicking team must be behind the kick-off line; members of the receiving team must be at least 10 yards from the kick-off line. On scrimmages, at the snap the offence must be behind the line of scrimmage; the defence must be at least one yard beyond the line of scrimmage.
A player of the kicking team who can legally recover the kick. The kicker and any teammates behind the ball at the time of the kick are onside. Thus on kick-offs all players of the kicking team are onside, but on other kicks usually only the kicker is. The holder on a place kick is not considered onside.
A defensive position on scrimmages, also called free safety. Typical formations include a single safety, whose main duty is to cover wide receivers. See also defensive back.
A two-point score. The defence scores a safety when the offence carries or passes the ball into its own goal area and then fails to run, pass, or kick the ball back into the field of play; when this term is used in this sense, it is also referred to as a safety touch.
American and Canadian football are gridiron codes of football that are very similar; both have their origins partly in rugby football, but some key differences exist between the two codes.
In gridiron football, a quick kick is any punt made under conditions in which the opposing team would not expect a punt. Typically this has been a kick from scrimmage from a formation that is, or resembles, one usually used other than for punting, or at least not resembling the one usually used for punting. Typically it will also be on some down before last down, unless done from a formation usually used for place kicking.
Strategy is a major part of American football.
Gameplay in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is or is not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage – passes, runs, punts or field goal attempts – or free kicks such as kickoffs and fair catch kicks. Substitutions can be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation. During a play, each team should have no more than 12 players on the field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.
In gridiron football, the neutral zone is an area in which no member of either team may be, other than the person holding the ball. The neutral zone only exists in dead ball situations.
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Additionally, it may refer to a kickoff time, the scheduled time of the first kickoff of a game. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to return the ball, i.e., attempt to advance it towards the kicking team's end zone, until the player with the ball is tackled by the kicking team, goes out of bounds, scores a touchdown, or the play is otherwise ruled dead. Kickoffs take place at the start of each half of play, the beginning of overtime in some overtime formats, and after scoring plays.
A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or a touchdown if it is successful, but with the chance of a significant loss of yards or a turnover if not. Trick plays are rarely used not only because of the riskiness, but also to maintain the element of surprise for when they are used.
In gridiron football, the safety or safety touch is a scoring play that results in two points being awarded to the scoring team. Safeties can be scored in a number of ways, such as when a ball carrier is tackled in his own end zone or when a foul is committed by the offense in its own end zone. After a safety is scored in American football, the ball is kicked off to the team that scored the safety from the 20-yard line; in Canadian football, the scoring team also has the options of taking control of the ball at its own 35-yard line or kicking off the ball, also at its own 35-yard line. The ability of the scoring team to receive the ball through a kickoff differs from the touchdown and field goal, which require the scoring team to kick the ball off to the scored-upon team. Despite being of relatively low point value, safeties can have a significant impact on the result of games, and Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats estimated that safeties have a greater abstract value than field goals, despite being worth a point less, due to the field position and reclaimed possession gained off the safety kick.
A comparison of American football and rugby union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.
A comparison between American football and rugby league is possible because of their shared origins and similar game concepts. Rugby league is arguably the most similar sport to American football after Canadian football: both sports involve the concept of a limited number of downs/tackles and scoring touchdowns/tries takes clear precedence over goal-kicking.
High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partly due to risk of injury, particularly concussions. According to The Washington Post, between 2009 and 2019, participation in high school football declined by 9.1%. It is the basic level or step of tackle football.
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball must pass through the vertical plane of the goal, which is the area above the crossbar and between the uprights or, if above the uprights, between their outside edges. American football requires that a field goal must only come during a play from scrimmage while Canadian football retains open field kicks and thus field goals may be scored at any time from anywhere on the field and by any player. The vast majority of field goals, in both codes, are placekicked. Drop-kicked field goals were common in the early days of gridiron football but are almost never attempted in modern times. A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, but this is also extremely rare. In most leagues, a successful field goal awards three points.
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see Glossary of Canadian football.
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run a play from scrimmage close to the opponent's goal line and advance the ball across the goal line in the same manner as if they were scoring a touchdown. If the team succeeds, it earns two additional points in addition to the six points for the touchdown, for a total of eight points. If the team fails, no additional points are scored.
In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final down, with the hope of giving the receiving team a field position that is more advantageous to the kicking team when possession changes. The result of a typical punt, barring any penalties or extraordinary circumstances, is a first down for the receiving team. A punt is not to be confused with a drop kick, a kick after the ball hits the ground, now rare in both American and Canadian football.
The conversion, try, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team attempts to score one extra point by kicking the ball through the uprights in the manner of a field goal, or two points by passing or running the ball into the end zone in the manner of a touchdown.
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