In
, a turnover on downs occurs when a team's offense has used all their
downs but has not progressed downfield enough to earn another set of downs. The resulting
turnover gives possession of the ball to the team currently on defense.
In American football, both
indoor
Indoor(s) may refer to:
*the interior of a building
*Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality
*Built envi ...
and outdoor, a team has four opportunities (each opportunity is called a "down") to gain at least ten
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...
s or to score. Any ground gained during each down short of these ten yards is kept for the next chance, and any ground lost must be regained in addition to the ten yards. Thus, if a team gains four yards on first down, it then has three chances to gain the six remaining yards, and if a team loses four yards on first down then it must gain a total of fourteen yards over the next three chances. If a team gains the required ten yards, it receives another four downs to gain another ten yards (an event called a "first down") or cross the
goal line for a score. The same principles apply in Canadian football, except that a team has only three chances to gain ten yards instead of four.
In the NFL, turnovers on downs do not count as turnovers in statistics for either team; turnover statistics tally turnovers that occur ''during'' a play — namely,
fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...
recoveries and
interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
s.
Strategy
In most cases, teams will use one less chance (i.e. three in American football, two in Canadian football) than they are permitted to try to gain a first down. Usually, if a team has failed to gain the needed yardage when playing its final down, it will then
punt the ball, offering the opposing team possession (the kicking team aims to place the ball downfield), or attempt to kick a
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
if close enough (typically within 40 yards of the goal posts). In the event of a successful punt, the opposing team will start its new set of downs at the spot the
punt returner can advance the ball to before being
tackled (or goes out of bounds), or where the punt goes out of bounds, or (in American football only) where the punt comes to rest when rolling to a stop or at the spot where the punt is
fair-caught.
Reasons for not kicking on last down
In some instances, a team may elect to use its last down to try to gain the yardage, rather than punt or kick a field goal . This is often referred to as "going for it" or "sticking" (as opposed to "kicking"). This disadvantage is that if this conversion attempt fails, the opposing team will immediately take possession of the ball at the spot where the play ended, rather than (usually) much farther away from a score in the case of a punt. Factors that may lead to a team making this choice are:
* Only a small distance is needed to gain a first down
* Only a small distance is needed to score a touchdown (a team's incentive to "go for it" in this situation may be higher due to the higher reward--a touchdown--if they succeed)
* A team is close to, but not within
field goal range Field goal range is the part of the field in American football where there is a good chance that a field goal attempt will be successful.
A field goal is normally 17 yards (7 yards in Canadian football) longer than the distance of the line of scrim ...
, such that a punt may not net very many yards (in American football, if the punt reaches the end zone, the opposing team will get the ball on the 20-yard line).
* A team believes it has a chance to convert the first down by way of a
fake punt or a fake field goal.
* A bad snap or a fumble by the offensive forces a team to abandon a field goal or punt attempt and unexpectedly go for it.
* A blocked field goal or a punt by the defense ends up being recovered by the offense and unexpectedly goes for it.
* A team believes the defense might cause a penalty thus giving the team on offense a closer distance to convert or, depending on the penalty, an automatic first down.
* A team's kicking or punting team may not be very good and goes for it to avoid the possibility of missing a field goal or having a punt blocked.
* At certain times of the year the weather might be factor into going for it instead of kicking or punting the ball.
* The game's end is near and the team wants to score additional points to prevent the opposing team from coming back to tie or win the game.
* The game's end is near or in overtime and if the team surrenders possession of the ball, it may not have another chance to score what is needed to win or tie the game.
* The game's end is near, and the team is in field goal range but is trailing such that a field goal would not tie or win the game, but a touchdown would.
* The game's end is near and the team is out of field goal range but there is enough time on the clock to execute one final play to score a touchdown to tie or win the game via
Hail Mary pass
A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catho ...
or a series of lateral passes.
* The game's first half end is near and they need to score a field goal or a touchdown to cut into the deficit, tie the game, go ahead or extend the lead before halftime.
* A team is trailing by more than a touchdown, and needs a touchdown AND one or more additional scores to tie or win the game.
* In certain situations near the end of the game the team on fourth down is leading, may attempt it to get a first down in order to run out the clock or prevent the opposing team from possessing the ball for a game tying or game winning score.
* In certain leagues, if a game is in overtime, the team may need to convert on fourth down in order to score a touchdown to win the game automatically, whereas a field goal would not.
* In certain leagues, in order to make the playoffs, tiebreaking procedures include points scored so a team might want to score touchdowns rather than field goals to win the tiebreaker.
* Finally, there is no obvious reason to attempt a conversion, a team may nevertheless attempt one if it believes the attempt will surprise the defense or catch it off-balance.
One American high school coach has achieved national notoriety for his absolute refusal to punt, regardless of field position.
Kevin Kelley, the former head coach at
Pulaski Academy
Pulaski Academy (PA) is a private, independent college preparatory preschool, elementary, and junior/senior high school headed by Brock Dunn in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. PA was established in 197 ...
in
Little Rock, Arkansas
(The Little Rock, The "Little Rock")
, government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager
, leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_ ...
, led the school to multiple state championships with a heavily analytics-driven strategy. After becoming Pulaski's head coach in 2003, he ran across a research paper by a
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
professor who argued that punting made no mathematical sense. Kelley responded by initially reducing punting to less than twice per game, and soon eliminating it altogether.
See also
*
1st & Ten, the graphics system used in NFL broadcast to superimpose the first-down line on the field of play
*
Glossary of American football
The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''.
0–9
...
References
{{American football concepts
American football terminology
Canadian football terminology