What Is Defensive Pass Interference in the NFL?
Updated: Oct 10
Defensive pass interference occurs when a defender illegally hinders an eligible opponent's opportunity to catch a forward pass. In the NFL it normally gives the offense the ball at the foul spot and an automatic first down, rather than a maximum 15 yard award.
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Photo source and license: BrokenSphere image on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
The restriction applies more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage on a pass thrown from behind the line. It begins when the ball is thrown and ends when any player touches it.
What officials look for
Examples include grabbing the receiver's arm, hooking and turning his body, cutting off his route through contact without playing the ball, or hitting him early in a way that restricts the catch opportunity.
Contact by itself is not enough. Incidental contact, including an accidental tangle of feet while both players pursue the ball, need not be a foul. Interference also is not called when the pass is clearly uncatchable for the affected player.
A defender does not automatically commit interference by failing to turn his head. Conversely, looking back at the ball does not excuse grabbing or driving through the receiver. The relevant question is what his action did to the opponent's opportunity.
Before the throw and after a tip
Contact before the release may be illegal contact or defensive holding, but it is not defensive pass interference yet. A pass touched by another player ends the interference restriction, although holding or unnecessary roughness can still be relevant.
That is why slow motion should establish the throw and any tip before evaluating the contact.
End zone enforcement
Interference in the end zone generally puts the ball at the defensive 1 when the snap was at or outside the 2. If the snap was inside the 2, half the distance applies. The offense also receives a first down.
For a foul at the defensive 18 on a deep throw, the ordinary result is first down at the 18. Offensive pass interference uses different enforcement, so the same collision can have very different consequences depending on who illegally restricted whom.
Examples and illustrations
Keep reading
Defensive holding: Compare a foul that can occur before the pass.
Pass interference overview: See the shared rules and key differences.
The NFL catch rule: Follow what the receiver still must complete after contact.
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Rules reviewed October 10, 2026. Source: 2026 NFL Rulebook, Rule 8 Section 5 Articles 1 through 3.
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