All questions in this quiz relate to the NFL rules. Team A refers to the team that puts the ball in play, either by snap or a kickoff, and remains that designation throughout the question. Players and yard lines are designated by Team A and B. For example, if the ball is on the B10-yard line, it means that Team A is near to scoring a touchdown.
Click on “answer” to reveal the correct ruling. Let us know in the comments how well you scored. Be honest and good luck!
4th-and-2 from the B25-yard line. In a postseason game with the score tied 17-17, Team A has the ball with five seconds to go in the second overtime period. Kicker A1 attempts a 42-yard field goal (ball spotted at the 32 yard line on the left-side hashmark from kicker’s perspective). The kick hits the right upright and is no good as time in the second overtime period expires. Where is the ball spotted for the next play?
1. Spot at 35, third overtime begins with a kickoff
Image credit: spackletoe on Flickr
Ball spotted on the 35-yard line for a kickoff. Just like the first and third quarters begin with a kickoff, the first and third overtime periods also begin with a kickoff. The team that lost the coin toss prior to the first overtime will have the option at the beginning of the third overtime.
This only happened once in a professional football game in the old USFL. I do not know if the kickoff was proscribed in the USFL rulebook, and I cannot find any play-by-play or some account of the game that indicates they conducted the seventh-quarter kickoff. Update: One of our readers who saw the game (someone did apparently) indicated in the comments that the third overtime of the USFL game continued the drive from the end of the second overtime period. Their rulebook apparently did not have that kickoff provision.
Also, the rules state that there is no “halftime” intermission between the second and third overtimes, so as much as fans may want him to, the Frisbee-catching dog that performed during the halftime show won’t be able to return to do his act.
Ben Austro is the editor and founder of Football Zebras and the author of So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref's Guide to the Official Rules (on sale now)
5 thoughts on “Tough quiz: 7 calls you may never see in NFL (but how would you rule?)”
The 2013 Fiesta Bowl featured a variation on Question 3.
Ah…. Dickie Moegel.
This almost happened in a 1997 Jaguars-Steelers game. The potential game-winning field goal for the Steelers was blocked, and as a Jaguar began to return it for a touchdown, he ran past Bill Cowher, who made a motion as if he was going to tackle the player. Cowher said that he almost made the tackle.
For Q #1, I have always been interested to see a 7th Quarter kickoff happen, but it never has as of yet. I did watch the Los Angeles Express Triple-Overtime USFL playoff game on ABC, and no kickoff occurred to start the 3rd OT period, only the ends of the field at the LA coliseum were switched, with possession maintained by the offense, as a continuation of the same drive from the end of the 2nd OT period.
Wow! Good to know someone was watching.
With all of the revisions to the overtime section of the rulebook for modified sudden death, it is a little more clearly stated that there is another kickoff. Before then, it was probably an item in the officials’ Casebook.
4th-and-2 from the B25-yard line. In a postseason game with the score tied 17-17, Team A has the ball with five seconds to go in the second overtime period. Kicker A1 attempts a 42-yard field goal (ball spotted at the 32 yard line on the left-side hashmark from kicker’s perspective). The kick hits the right upright and is no good as time in the second overtime period expires. Where is the ball spotted for the next play?
The 2013 Fiesta Bowl featured a variation on Question 3.
Ah…. Dickie Moegel.
This almost happened in a 1997 Jaguars-Steelers game. The potential game-winning field goal for the Steelers was blocked, and as a Jaguar began to return it for a touchdown, he ran past Bill Cowher, who made a motion as if he was going to tackle the player. Cowher said that he almost made the tackle.
For Q #1, I have always been interested to see a 7th Quarter kickoff happen, but it never has as of yet. I did watch the Los Angeles Express Triple-Overtime USFL playoff game on ABC, and no kickoff occurred to start the 3rd OT period, only the ends of the field at the LA coliseum were switched, with possession maintained by the offense, as a continuation of the same drive from the end of the 2nd OT period.
Wow! Good to know someone was watching.
With all of the revisions to the overtime section of the rulebook for modified sudden death, it is a little more clearly stated that there is another kickoff. Before then, it was probably an item in the officials’ Casebook.