ENRUES
All penalties

Roughing the kicker

Penalty: Special teams

What it is

A defender hits or runs into the kicker or punter in a way that is more than incidental contact, after he has kicked the ball.

The penalty

The penalty is 15 yards, plus an automatic first down. The penalty is enforced from the spot of the foul, and the kicking team gets a first down.

More detail

The kicker is a protected player, but only if the defender could have avoided the contact.

Animated play

101020203030404050504040303020201010END ZONEEND ZONEXXXXXHits the punter hard after the kickRoughing the kicker15 yards, plus a first downAutomatic first downThe punt is snapped and kicked.A rusher crashes into the punter after the kick.

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

  1. The punter takes the snap and kicks the ball away.
  2. A rusher who had no chance to block it hits the punter hard anyway.
  3. The officials flag roughing the kicker: fifteen yards and an automatic first down for the kicking team.