ENRUES
All penalties

Intentional grounding

Penalty: Offense

What it is

The quarterback throws the ball away, with no eligible receiver in a position to catch it, to avoid being sacked.

The penalty

The penalty is Loss of down and 10 yards from the previous spot, or from where the foul happened if that is farther back. If it happens in the quarterback’s own end zone, the defense scores a safety.

More detail

There is an exception: a quarterback who has left the pocket can throw the ball away if it travels to the line of scrimmage or beyond, or out of bounds. Officials judge whether a receiver could have caught it.

Animated play

101020203030404050504040303020201010END ZONEEND ZONEXXXXXXNobody close enough to catch itIntentional groundingLoss of down and 10 yardsThe quarterback is about to be sacked.He throws the ball where no receiver can reach it.

Blue circles are the team with the ball. X marks the other team. The yellow oval is the ball.

  1. The pass rush closes in and the quarterback has nowhere to go.
  2. He throws the ball away, into an area with no receiver, so he cannot be sacked.
  3. The officials flag intentional grounding. The team loses the down and ten yards.