Safety (gridiron football score)

In gridiron football, the safety (American football) or safety touch (Canadian football) is a scoring play which results in two points being awarded to the scoring team. Safeties can be scored in a number of ways, such as when a ballcarrier is tackled in his own end zone or when a punt goes out of the end zone of the kicking team. After a safety is scored, the ball is kicked off to the team that scored the safety; in Canadian football, the scoring team also has the options of scrimmaging the ball from their 35-yard line or kicking the ball off themselves. While being of relatively low point value, safeties can have a significant impact on the result of games.

Safeties are the least common method of scoring in American football, but are not rare occurrences — since 1932, a safety has occurred once every 14.31 games in the National Football League, or about once a week under current scheduling rules. A much rarer occurrence is the one-point conversion safety, which can be scored by the offense on a try attempt. In college football, the defense can also score a conversion safety; while this has never happened, it is the only possible way an American football team could finish a game with a single point.

American football
In American football, a safety is scored when any of the following conditions occur:
 * The ballcarrier is tackled in his own end zone
 * The ball becomes dead in the end zone, with the exception of an incomplete forward pass, and the defending team is responsible for it being there
 * The offense commits a foul in their own end zone

Canadian football
In Canadian football, a safety touch is scored when any of the following conditions occur:
 * The ball becomes dead in the Goal Area of the team in possession of the ball
 * The ball touches or crosses the dead line or a sideline in goal after having been directed from the field of play into the Goal Area by the team scored against or as the direct result of a blocked scrimmage kick

American football
After a safety is scored, the ball is put into play by a free kick. The team that was scored upon must kick the ball from their own 20-yard line and can punt, drop kick, or place kick the ball. In professional play, a tee cannot be used - however, a tee can be used in high school or college football. Once the ball has been kicked, it can be caught and advanced by any member of the receiving team, and it can be recovered by the kicking team if (1) the ball travels at least 10 yards (this is the same as the recovery rule for an onside kick), or (2) a player of the receiving team touches the ball.

Canadian football
After scoring a safety touch, the scoring team has the option of scrimmaging from their own 35-yard line, kicking the ball off from their 35-yard line, or accepting a kickoff from the 25-yard line of the team that conceded the score. If a kickoff is chosen it must be a place kick, and the ball can be held, placed on the ground, or placed on a tee prior to the kick. As in American football, the ball must go at least ten yards before it can be recovered by the receiving team.

Elective safeties
Occasionally, the team with the ball may concede a safety intentionally, as a game strategy.

The elective safety is not uncommon in Canadian (three-down) football when a team faces a third-down situation deep in their own territory. A punt from the end zone would give the receiving team much better field position than a kickoff from the 25-yard line would.

The elective safety is not seen often in American (four-down) football, since the ensuing free kick would come from the 20-yard line. However, it is occasionally employed by teams who are willing to trade two points on the scoreboard for a perceived greater advantage in field position or clock time, or by teams who are unwilling to risk a mishap that could be converted by the opposing team into a much more significant touchdown. It is most likely seen when there is very little to no time remaining, when the line of scrimmage is so close to the goal line that it does not allow the punter sufficient space to safely kick the ball, or when the conceding team is up by 6 or 11 points (since the 2 points conceded will have a much smaller impact on gameplay).

Another reason to take an elective safety can be to deny the opposing team the option of a fair catch kick. Because a fair catch can only be called if the ball has not touched the ground, a punt is usually the only situation in which this can happen. Therefore, a team leading by three points at the end of a game could elect to take a safety so that they could squib kick the ball, preventing the fair-catch and free kick that follows it.

For field position
A notable example of a team conceding an intentional safety for field position occurred in a Monday Night Football game on Monday, November 3, 2003. Trailing the Denver Broncos by one point with about three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and facing fourth-and-long from their own 1-yard line, the New England Patriots elected to have long snapper Lonie Paxton intentionally snap the ball against the goalpost, rather than attempt a dangerous punt. With the Patriots now trailing by three, their ensuing free kick traveled all the way to the Broncos' 15. The Patriots defense forced a punt, and their offense subsequently drove down the field for the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left.

Another example of a team trading an elective safety for field position, this time in college, happened in 2004, when Iowa defeated Penn State 6–4, because of Iowa's two field goals and Penn State's two safeties; it is the only time in the modern era where that score has happened. The second safety occurred when Iowa faced a fourth down just inches ahead of its own end zone and rather than risk a blocked punt, which Penn State had already done a few times that day and which would probably have led to a touchdown, they decided to take a safety and "free kick" to Penn State from the 20. This allowed Iowa to hold off Penn State's offense for the remainder of the game.

Virginia Tech conceded an elective safety in the 2008 ACC Championship Game against Boston College. With 2:58 left in the game and Virginia Tech ahead 30–10, VT player Brent Bowden ran out of bounds in his team's own end zone, scoring a two-point safety for Boston College. This was considered a "safe" move against a strong BC defense, capable of blocking the punt, scoring a touchdown, and setting them up for a second touchdown following a probable onside kick. Instead, VT punted from its 20-yard line and prevented BC from scoring for the remainder of the game—which ended with a final score of 30–12.

For clock time
Another notable example of a team conceding an intentional safety occurred in the December 31, 1994, playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. The Packers were leading, 16–10, and had the ball deep in their own territory, while facing fourth down with only a few seconds remaining. Knowing that a punt return could beat them, while a field goal could not, the Packers opted to have punter Craig Hentrich scramble in the end zone prior to stepping out of the back corner of the end zone for an intentional safety. Hentrich was able to run out the remaining game time on the play. However, even if he had failed to do so, the Packers would still have been able to punt from their own 20 to restart play, a more advantageous situation than punting from deep in the Packers end zone. Further, even after giving up the safety, the Packers remained in a position where a touchdown could beat them, but a field goal could not. Perhaps the most noteworthy impact of the intentional safety was felt in Las Vegas, as the betting line on the game was Packers by 4 points. Therefore, by taking the intentional safety, the Packers turned what would have been a win for those who bet on them into a push.

An example of a team trading an elective safety for a clock time advantage arose in college football's Backyard Brawl on December 1, 2007. Leading the West Virginia Mountaineers 13–7 with nine seconds remaining, the Pittsburgh Panthers faced a fourth down at their own 15. The Pittsburgh punter received the snap at the goal line and, instead of punting, scrambled in his end zone until the remaining time expired. He then stepped over the end line to concede two points, making the final score 13–9. West Virginia was thus denied the opportunity to gain possession of the ball to possibly score a winning touchdown.

Another example of a team trading an elective safety in college happened September 24, 2011, when Oklahoma State defeated Texas A&M 30–29. Texas A&M trailed by 3 points, 30–27, when OSU reached a fourth and long dilemma with eight seconds remaining on the clock. If OSU had punted the ball, it would have given A&M two different opportunities: Return the punt for a TD or call a timeout and have one last play. OSU opted to hike the ball to wide receiver, Justin Blackmon, who ran the ball 40 yards backwards, out of the end zone, for a safety. Time expired and OSU won the game 30–29.

Similarly, on October 19, 2002, California was leading UCLA by a score of 17–10 on fourth down with 5 seconds left in the game. Instead of punting and risking a block (UCLA had already blocked two previous punt attempts) or a touchdown return, California threw a backwards pass 39 yards for the safety, running the final seconds off the clock and resulting in a 17–12 final score.

The New Orleans Saints conceded an elective safety in the last seconds of the second NFL Wembley Stadium game on 26 October 2008 in order to kill time as they held a seven-point lead and won the game 37–32.

After a loose ball
An elective safety may also arise from a loose ball in or near one's own end zone, usually the result of a fumble or a blocked punt. A player may then choose to kick or bat the ball out of his end zone intentionally (which would be a penalty in his own end zone anyway), conceding two points but denying the opponents the opportunity to recover the ball for a touchdown.

In a notable example, during the NFC Championship Game played on January 23, 2000, a bad snap in the second quarter went over Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King's head and into the end zone. King then intentionally knocked the ball out of the end zone to prevent a touchdown, but it gave the St. Louis Rams a safety and a 5-3 lead. The Rams went on to win 11-6.

Conversion safety
In American football, if what would normally be a safety is scored on a try, one point is awarded to the scoring team. This is known as the conversion safety and it can only be scored by the offense in high school and professional play; however, in college play a conversion safety can also be scored by the defense. Although a defensive conversion safety has never been scored, it is the only possible way a team could finish with a single point in an American football game.