What it is

A touchback happens when the ball is dead in an end zone after being kicked or intercepted there, and the team defending that end zone takes over and starts from a set yard line instead of running the ball out.

In a game

After a kickoff that reaches the end zone in the air, the ball usually goes to the receiving team’s 35-yard line. If the kick first lands in the landing zone and then rolls into the end zone, the spot is the 20-yard line. After a punt that goes into the end zone, the ball is placed on the 20. A touchback also happens when a defender intercepts a pass in his own end zone and kneels.

More detail

Players can kneel in the end zone to make the ball dead right away. A touchback is different from a safety, which is a score: in a touchback the team that did not touch it last was the one that kicked or threw it in, so no one is awarded points.

Animated play

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

1. A touchback happens when the ball goes into the end zone and the team that received it chooses not to bring it out.
2. On a kickoff, if a kick reaches the end zone in the air and the returner kneels, the ball is placed on the receiving team’s 35-yard line. If the kick first lands in the landing zone and then bounces into the end zone, the spot is the 20.
3. On a punt that reaches the end zone, the ball is placed on the 20-yard line.
4. An interception made in the end zone and downed there is also a touchback, with the ball on the 20.
5. Kneeling is safe. The ball is dead the moment he kneels, so nobody can tackle or hit him.