Where Is an NFL Penalty Enforced During a Pass Play?

Sep 16

2 min read

Updated: Oct 10

For a foul during a forward passing play from behind the line of scrimmage, the NFL's starting rule is enforcement from the previous spot, where the ball was snapped. The flag's location is not automatically the enforcement spot.

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An American football referee in a white cap announces a penalty call during UCLA at California in 2008. — A referee announces a call during UCLA at California on Oct. 25, 2008. Photo by BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo source: BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

That passing play extends from the snap until the forward pass ends. A completed catch starts a running play, so a later foul during the receiver's run can use different enforcement rules.

A straightforward example

The offense snaps from its own 35. Before the throw, a defender holds a receiver at the 42. If accepted, defensive holding brings five yards from the 35 and an automatic first down. It is not measured five yards from where the defender grabbed the receiver.

Likewise, ordinary offensive holding during the pass generally brings ten yards from the previous spot. The location of the eventual incompletion does not change that starting point.

Important exceptions

Defensive pass interference normally uses the spot of the interference and awards an automatic first down. Its end zone provisions can put the ball at the 1 or apply half the distance.

Intentional grounding uses its own distance and loss of down rules. An offensive foul in its own end zone can produce a safety when the defense elects the applicable enforcement.

Certain defensive personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct during a completed passing play can be enforced from the dead ball spot rather than the previous spot when that is more advantageous. Scoring plays and possession changes require their own additional checks.

Timing matters as much as location

A hold before the receiver catches the ball and a hold during his return of that completed catch do not necessarily share an enforcement spot. A foul after the ball becomes dead is another category again.

To follow the announcement, identify the foul, whether the pass was complete and when possession changed. Then apply the named exception instead of treating every passing down as one uniform penalty situation.