In football, a touchback is a ruling made by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a teams own goal line (end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum or impetus to travel over or across the goal line but did not have possession of the ball when it became dead. Here are some key points about touchbacks in football:
- A touchback is not a play but a result of events that may occur during a play.
- It is the opposite of a safety, which is scored when the ball becomes dead in a team's end zone after that team caused the ball to cross the goal line.
- The result of a touchback is that the team in whose end zone the ball became dead is awarded possession of the ball on its own 20-yard line in the NFL and college football.
- Touchbacks can occur in various situations, including kickoffs, punts, intercepted forward passes, fumbles, or instances of batting the ball.
- In college football, touchbacks have also been awarded on kickoffs that end in a fair catch by the receiving team between its own 25-yard line and goal line since the 2018 season.
- Touchbacks can also be called if the receiver waves for a fair catch before catching the ball or takes a knee once the ball is caught.
