In American football, a safety can refer to two different things: a scoring play and a defensive position. A safety as a scoring play is awarded to the defensive team when the offensive team is tackled in their own end zone, commits a foul in their end zone, or fumbles the ball out of their end zone. This results in two points for the defensive team, and the team scored upon must then kick the ball to the opposing team
. On the other hand, a safety as a defensive position is a player on the defensive team, specifically a defensive back, who lines up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. The safety's primary responsibility is to prevent the ball carrier from getting past them and to provide the last line of defense against the opposing team's offense
. So, in summary, a football safety can refer to a scoring play that awards two points to the defensive team or to a defensive position responsible for the last line of defense against the opposing team's offense.
