What Is an Illegal Blindside Block? The NFL Direction Test

Aug 17

2 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

An illegal NFL blindside block occurs when a blocker moves toward or parallel to his own end line and initiates forcible contact with his helmet, forearm or shoulder, unless the defined close line exception applies. The penalty is 15 yards.

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A blindside block is a 15-yard NFL foul when a player initiates a block while moving toward or parallel to his own end line and makes forcible contact with an opponent using the helmet, forearm, or shoulder.

The name can mislead viewers. Whether the opponent saw the block is not the rule's only or primary test. Direction and the contact used to initiate the block are central.

Follow the blocker before the collision

A return or reversed run can send a teammate back toward his own end line to block a pursuing opponent. A forceful shoulder strike from that path can meet the rule even if it reaches the opponent from the side.

An unexpected hit delivered while moving toward the opponent's end line does not automatically satisfy this particular direction test. Other restrictions can still make it illegal, including unnecessary roughness or prohibited contact against a defenseless player.

A replay needs enough field context to establish the blocker's path. The final frame of a dramatic collision cannot show that alone.

The contact tools matter

The rule identifies helmet, forearm and shoulder contact. A player occupying space or using a different legal technique is not automatically committing this foul. However, hands do not provide a universal escape: holding or illegal contact to the head and neck can still apply, and an extended arm does not erase a shoulder strike that actually initiates the force.

The close line exception

The rule excepts contact in the defined close line play area before the ball leaves that area. It also specifies how an immediate or slightly delayed quarterback retreat into the pocket is treated for this purpose; the exception is more precise than simply following the ball's physical distance from the snap.

Even within that area, crackback restrictions and peel back restrictions still apply. Ordinary interior line play is not permission for every forceful block.

Keep the fouls separate

A block in the back concerns rear contact above the waist. Clipping concerns a block from behind below the waist against a nonrunner. A blindside block can arrive from the side and depends on the direction and contact tool described here.

For a practical example, follow a receiver who turns back toward his own end line during a teammate's run. If he delivers a forceful shoulder block on a pursuer outside the exception, expect the blindside rule to be considered. His football objective does not remove the contact restriction.