Touchbacks Explained

By 4Football Staff · October 10, 2026 · 10 min read

A touchback is not a touchdown and it is not a safety. Learn when the ball becomes dead in the end zone, who gets it and where it is spotted, and why the spot depends on the kind of play.

A kickoff sails through the back of the end zone and the returner stands still, arm raised, waiting for the whistle. Nothing has been scored, no clock has been stopped for a replay and the television graphic still shows the same score. Yet the ball is about to be placed twenty-odd yards from the goal line, and the offense will start from there.

That is a touchback, and it is one of the most common results in football and one of the least explained. The word sounds like a touchdown in reverse, which is a decent hint. A touchdown rewards the team that carries the ball across the opposing goal line. A touchback rewards no one with points; it simply decides who gets the ball and where when the ball becomes dead in an end zone without anyone scoring.

This guide covers what a touchback is, when it applies, how it differs from a safety, where the ball is spotted at each level and why players sometimes choose a touchback on purpose.

The definition

A touchback happens when the ball becomes dead in a team's own end zone, and the opponent supplied the force that put it there. The team that is defending that end zone gets the ball, and the ball is spotted at a set yard line, which depends on the kind of play and the level.

Two ideas are packed into that definition.

• The ball is dead in the end zone. It was downed, went out of bounds, or otherwise stopped there. If a player carries it back out, there is no touchback, only a normal play.
• The other team supplied the impetus. The rulebook word is impetus, the force that sent the ball across the goal line. If the defense did it, the result is a touchback. If the offense did it, the result is a safety.

The second point is the one that separates the two plays, and it is why a touchback and a safety can look nearly identical on the field. In both, a player is in his own end zone with the ball. In one case his team is penalized with two points and a free kick, and in the other case his team gets the ball at the 20. The only difference is whose action put the ball there. For the full treatment of that other side, see safeties: how they happen and why they are rare.

The common ways a touchback happens

Most touchbacks fall into a few categories.

Kickoffs

When a kickoff travels into the receiving team's end zone, the receiver can kneel to end the play or the ball can go through the end zone and out of bounds. Either way the ball is dead in the end zone, and the receiving team starts its drive at a set yard line. Kickoff touchbacks are the most common kind, and rule makers change the spot from time to time as part of larger kickoff reforms. We trace those changes in kickoff rules and how they have changed.

Punts

If a punt reaches the end zone and is not run out, the receiving team takes over, and the ball is placed at the 20-yard line at the NFL, college and high school levels. A punt that bounces into the end zone also counts, as does a punt that is caught there. A punter who sends the ball into the end zone has given up some of its net distance, so kicking coaches talk about hitting a spot inside the 10-yard line instead. For more on this, read punt rules: fair catch, downed ball and touchback.

Interceptions in the end zone

A defender who intercepts a pass in his own end zone can try to return it or can end the play by kneeling. If he kneels, the result is a touchback, and his team starts at the 20 at the NFL level. The same is true if the defender catches the ball and is tackled in the end zone, because the offense's pass supplied the impetus.

This is why defenders so often kneel after an interception deep in their own end zone. A return from there can end in a tackle close to the goal line, and the touchback spot is a safer starting point.

Fumbles that leave the end zone

A fumble by the offense inside the opponent's end zone, which then rolls out of bounds there, is a touchback for the defense. This is a long-standing rule in the NFL and it surprises people when a fumble out of the end zone costs the offense the ball when it was inches from scoring. Under the rule, the defense gets the ball at its 20-yard line. Not every level handles it in exactly the same way, so check your own rulebook.

Missed field goals

A missed field goal that goes into the end zone untouched is handled differently from the other cases. At the NFL level the defense generally takes over at the spot of the kick, but no farther back than the 20-yard line. Other levels use their own spots, so this one is not a simple "ball to the 20" rule. Field goal rules are covered in field goal rules: blocked, missed and returned kicks.

Where the ball is placed

The spot depends on the level of play and the type of touchback.

The first two rows are stable at all three levels. The third row is the one that moves. The NFL has changed its kickoff touchback spot more than once in recent years, sometimes as part of changes to the whole kickoff. College football moved its kickoff touchback to the 25-yard line in 2018 and has adjusted the surrounding rules since. A high school state association can modify the NFHS rule, so a neighboring state may place the ball in a different spot. If you rely on a particular spot, check the current rulebook for your league.

Touchback versus safety versus touchdown

Three different results can come from a player holding the ball in an end zone. This table makes the differences clear.

Keep in mind that a touchback is not a score. A player who intercepts a pass in the end zone and kneels is not credited with points, and the box score shows nothing special except that the next drive starts at a given yard line.

Six hypothetical plays, ruled

Working through examples is the quickest way to make the impetus idea stick. Each of these is a made-up play.

1. A punt sails over the returner's head, bounces once and rolls out the back of the end zone. The kicking team's punt supplied the force, so it is a touchback.
2. A quarterback is sacked in his own end zone. He had the ball there because his team's play put him there, so it is a safety, not a touchback.
3. A defender intercepts a pass at his own two-yard line, runs to the one and is tackled at the one. Nothing special: the ball never became dead in the end zone, and the next play starts at the one.
4. A defender catches a pass in the end zone, takes two steps and is tackled in the end zone. The pass put the ball there, so the result is a touchback.
5. A running back, a few feet from the goal line, reaches out and fumbles. The ball rolls through the end zone and out of bounds. The offense put the ball in the end zone by running, but the rule treats a fumble forward through the opponent's end zone as a touchback for the defense.
6. A running back at his own one-yard line fumbles and the ball rolls out the back of his own end zone. This time the ball went into his team's own end zone because of his team's play, so it is a safety.

Plays five and six are the ones that surprise people. The ball ends up in the same kind of place, out the back of an end zone, yet the team that gets credit differs, because the question is always which end zone it is and whose force took the ball there.

Why a player may choose a touchback

Some touchbacks are accidents, but many are deliberate choices.

• To avoid a big hit. A kickoff returner who catches a ball deep in the end zone knows that the first defenders will reach him before he can reach the 20. Kneeling guarantees a spot at the touchback line and avoids contact.
• To avoid a fumble. Carrying the ball out of the end zone is a risk, since any fumble near the goal line can be a disaster. A kneel eliminates it.
• To use the clock. In late-game situations a team that is ahead often wants to end plays quickly. A touchback after a kickoff is quick and predictable.
• Because the coverage team is faster. If the kicker has hit a deep and high kick and the coverage team is nearly there, a smart returner takes the touchback.

The decision about whether to return a kick is a calculation of expected field position. If a returner is confident he can reach the touchback line or beyond, he runs it out. If he does not think so, he kneels. A good returner's "decision" is a sign he understands the distance between his starting point and the spot of the touchback.

The kicking team has a decision as well. A kicker who sends the ball into the end zone each time gives the receiving team a guaranteed start at the touchback spot. A kicker who aims for the corner or kicks a short, low ball may force a return in the field of play. Which is better depends on the touchback spot and on how good the coverage team is. That tradeoff is part of why kickoff rules keep changing.

Touchbacks and the rest of the end zone

A few special rulings come up repeatedly.

1. The receiver catches the ball in the end zone and runs it out. There is no touchback if he brings it out and is tackled in the field of play, and the tackle spot is where the next play starts. If he is tackled in the end zone, the ball is dead there and the touchback is ruled.
2. A player's foot touches the end line or sideline. A player who is out of bounds while holding the ball in the end zone is dead there, and the touchback applies when the other team's impetus put the ball there.
3. A ball that hits the ground and stays in the end zone. On a punt, if the ball touches the ground in the end zone and a receiving-team player downs it or the ball stays there, it is a touchback.
4. Replay. In the NFL and college, replay can be used to decide whether the ball broke the plane of the goal line or whether a player was in the end zone when the ball went dead. The rules for what is reviewable change, so check the current rulebook.

Common misconceptions

Several mistaken beliefs about touchbacks circulate widely.

• "A touchback is worth points." It is not. No points are awarded.
• "A touchback always means the 20." Not always. Kickoff touchbacks use a different spot in many rulebooks, and other situations can differ from level to level.
• "A player must kneel." He can also choose not to touch the ball, and the ball may go out of bounds in the end zone.
• "A fumble out of the end zone is a safety." A fumble by the offense out of the opponent's end zone is a touchback. A fumble by the offense out of its own end zone is a safety.
• "Only the defense can benefit." The team that gets the ball is the team whose end zone it is, usually the defense on a turnover, but on a kickoff it is the receiving team.

What to watch for

If you watch a game closely, you can learn to read a touchback before the official signals it. Watch the returner: if he drifts toward the back line and looks upfield only briefly, he is probably planning to kneel. And watch the clock in the final minute, because a team that needs time may prefer a kick that forces a return in the field of play, where the clock can keep running.

For live results, including how often a game turns on special teams, our scores page and standings page track the games, and the schedule lists when to catch the next one. If you are a player, the Play section has resources that explain these situations for recreational football.

The short version

• A touchback is a dead ball in a team's own end zone when the other team supplied the force that put it there; no points are scored.
• A safety is the opposite case, when the offense put the ball there, and it scores two points for the defense.
• Kickoffs, punts, interceptions and certain fumbles can all produce touchbacks, and missed field goals follow their own spotting rules.
• The ball is generally placed at the 20-yard line, but kickoff touchbacks use a different spot in many leagues, and those spots have changed over time.
• Players often kneel on purpose to avoid a hit or a fumble.
• Check the rulebook for your level for the exact spot and for how special situations are handled.