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What happens after a missed NFL field goal crosses the line of scrimmage?
When a missed field goal crosses the line of scrimmage and the receiving team has not touched it beyond that line before it becomes dead, the rulebook gives a special spot: the receiving team's 20 if the kick was from inside that 20, or the kick spot if the attempt was from the receiving team's 20 or farther from its goal line. A receiver's touch or a kick that ends behind the line changes the branch to the general scrimmage-kick rules.
For NFL viewers trying to understand why possession or field position changed after a missed kick. · Updated
For an untouched miss, check the kick spot
The special missed-field-goal rule applies when the attempt crosses the line of scrimmage and the receiving team has not touched it beyond that line in the field of play, or in the end zone before the ball touches the ground there. If the untouched ball reaches the ground in the end zone, the play is dead under the field-goal notes.
The possession spot depends on where the kick began relative to the receiving team's own 20-yard line. If the kick spot was inside that 20, the receiving team gets the ball at its 20. If the kick was from its 20 or farther from its goal line, the receiving team gets the ball at the kick spot. So an untouched miss from close range does not always give possession at the same place as a miss from farther out.
- Kick spot inside the receiving team's 20: receiving team gets the ball at its 20.
- Kick spot at the receiving team's 20 or farther from its goal: receiving team gets the ball at the kick spot.
- These special spots require the stated line-of-scrimmage and no-receiver-touch conditions.
A receiver's touch changes the rule branch
If a receiver touches the missed kick beyond the line of scrimmage in the field of play or in the end zone before the ball is dead, the special missed-field-goal spot does not apply; the rulebook sends the play to the general scrimmage-kick rules. The same general rules apply if the kick ends behind the line of scrimmage and the receiver has not touched it beyond the line.
Rule 11 then lists several possession outcomes. If the ball goes out of bounds after a receiver first touches it beyond the line in the field of play, the receiving team has it at the out-of-bounds spot. If the receiver first touches beyond the line and the kicking team recovers, the kicking team has the ball at the recovery spot; a recovery in the end zone is a touchdown. If a receiver first touches the ball in the field of play and, without new impetus, it rolls into the receiver's end zone and is dead in the receiver's possession, the result is a touchback.
Do not treat every miss as the same turnover
The kick's spot, whether it crossed the line of scrimmage, whether and where the receiver touched it, who recovered it, and whether a new force sent it into the end zone can all change the result. State those facts before applying a branch. If one is unknown, the rulebook alone does not support a single definite possession spot for that hypothetical.
This page explains the Rule 11 missed-field-goal branches. It does not assign a player's statistical credit for a recovery or describe a particular game's official ruling.
Two hypothetical untouched misses and a receiver-touch branch
Suppose Team A misses from inside Team B's 20. The kick crosses the line of scrimmage, and Team B does not touch it before it lands in the end zone. The rulebook gives Team B the ball at its 20. In a separate hypothetical, Team A misses from Team B's 30 under the same untouched conditions; Team B gets the ball at the kick spot. Now change the facts again: Team B touches a miss in the field of play before it is dead. The special untouched-miss spot no longer decides the result; apply the general scrimmage-kick rules, including the recovery and out-of-bounds branches stated above. These are fictional examples, not reports of actual games.
Related questions
Does every missed NFL field goal give the other team the ball at the kick spot?
No. For an untouched miss that meets the special rule, a kick from inside the receiving team's 20 gives the ball to that team at its 20. A kick from its 20 or farther from its goal gives it the ball at the kick spot. Receiver touches and kicks ending behind the line invoke different rules.
What if the receiving team touches the ball before it is dead?
If the receiver touches it beyond the line of scrimmage in the field of play or end zone before it becomes dead, the special missed-field-goal spot is replaced by the general scrimmage-kick rules. The recovery, where the ball goes, and any new impetus can affect the result.