What Is a Safety? The NFL Two Point Score Explained

A safety normally awards two points to the opponent when a team is responsible for the ball becoming dead in its own end zone, or when an accepted offensive foul is enforced there. It is a scoring play, distinct from the defensive back position also called safety.

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A quarterback tackled with the ball in his own end zone is the familiar example. But location alone does not settle every end zone play.

Common ways it happens

A runner can be tackled or step out behind his own goal line. A bad snap or backward pass can leave through the back or side of that end zone. An accepted holding or intentional grounding foul can also produce a safety when the rule places enforcement there.

If the opponent instead recovers a live loose ball in that end zone, the result can be a touchdown. Officials must identify possession and the applicable dead ball rule rather than automatically award two points whenever a loose ball appears behind the goal line.

Safety versus touchback

The rulebook uses impetus to identify the action responsible for sending the ball into an end zone. A team's own retreat or loose ball can create a safety. An opponent's kick or pass can instead lead to a touchback, with no points awarded.

The last player to touch the ball is not necessarily responsible for its location. An ordinary muff does not automatically erase the original kick's impetus. That distinction is particularly useful when reviewing a muffed punt near the goal line.

The momentum exception

A defender can establish possession in the field of play and have his original momentum carry him into his own end zone. If the specific momentum exception applies and the ball becomes dead in his team's possession there, the result is not automatically a safety.

The normal placement is based on where possession was established, with the rule's 1 yard minimum when that spot is closer to the goal line. This exception is not permission to catch the ball, stop and deliberately retreat into the end zone without risk.

What follows the score?

The team that conceded the safety normally makes a free kick from its 20, giving the scoring team the next receiving opportunity. The separate restart guide explains the allowed kick and current alignment.

A rare safety during a Try after a touchdown is worth one point, so the normal two point value should not be applied blindly to conversion plays.

Keep learning

• The restart after a safety: Learn the free kick procedure and allowed kick types.

• Intentional safeties: Understand why a team might choose to concede points.

• Intentional grounding: See how a passing foul can produce a safety.

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Rules reviewed October 10, 2026. Official 2026 NFL rulebook. Rule 11, Sections 3 and 5.