what is a 10 second runoff in football

The 10-second runoff is a rule in football that is used to prevent a team from taking advantage of its own penalty or injury by stopping the clock without using a timeout. The rule has been in the NFL since 1955 and is intended to nullify the offenses advantage when the clock stops to adjudicate penalties or injuries. The idea behind the 10-second runoff rule is that officials do not want teams to take advantage of their own injury or penalty by stopping the clock. The rule is applied when a penalty is called against the team with the ball in the final minute of a half or the game, and the clock is running. If the penalty results in a loss of down, the clock is stopped until the next snap. If the penalty results in a stoppage of play, the clock is stopped until the ball is snapped. In either case, a 10-second runoff is applied if the team with the ball has no timeouts remaining. The 10-second runoff is intended to prevent the offense from using a penalty to stop the clock in exchange for a timeout.