What Is a Safety in Football? The 2-Point Score

A safety is worth two points, awarded to the defending team. It is the only score credited to the defense as a unit rather than earned by the offense. After the two points, the team that conceded the safety must also give the ball back with a free kick, so the scoring team gets points and possession — a swing that can be worth far more than two points in field position.

The most common cause is the offensive ball carrier being tackled in his own end zone. A safety is also awarded if the offense commits a penalty in its own end zone (such as holding or intentional grounding), if a fumble goes out of bounds through the back of the end zone, or if a blocked punt goes out of the kicking team's end zone. The theme is that the ball becomes dead in the offense's own end zone under the offense's responsibility.

After the two points, the team that conceded the safety must put the ball back in play with a free kick — usually a punt — from its own 20-yard line. This is different from a normal score, after which the team that just scored kicks off. Here the scored-upon team kicks, which is why a safety uniquely combines points with a change of possession.

A safety is one of the rarest scoring plays, far less common than touchdowns or field goals, though not as rare as a one-point safety. Most NFL seasons see only a handful of them league-wide. Because it hands over both points and possession, a safety often has an outsized effect on a close game.

If a quarterback throws the ball away to avoid a sack while standing in his own end zone with no eligible receiver near the throw, the intentional grounding penalty is enforced as a safety rather than a yardage loss. This is one of the penalty-based ways a defense can be awarded two points. See our explainer on intentional grounding for the full rule.

A one-point safety is an extremely rare play that can only happen on a try (extra-point or two-point attempt). If the defense gains possession during a try and is then downed in its own end zone, the offense is awarded a single point. It has almost never happened at the NFL level, but the rule exists.

Yes. A blocked punt that rolls out of the back of the kicking team's end zone, or a punt returner tackled in his own end zone, both result in a safety. Special-teams safeties are among the most dramatic because they swing points and field position at once, often flipping momentum late in a half.