punting game

[benbret]

A1 punts from his own 50 yard line. He kicks the ball and hits A2 in the back and the ball bounces behind them to the 35. B1 trys to pick the ball up at the 35 but muffs it forward. B2 kicks the ball at the 30 while trying to pick it up. The ball goes in the endzone and B3 falls on it. Is this a touchdown? What if the football had gone out of bounds at the side line of the endzone? What if the football went out of the back of the endzone?

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Yes...as you described the play, it was a TD for B. Whenever a player is in possession of a live ball in his opponent's endzone, it's a TD.

Now for your other two questions, the answer is the same: The covering official needs to determine if there was a new force added to the grounded kick by B's muffs. Note...B's accidental kick while trying to recover the loose ball is a muff also. If the covering official rules that B's muffs (either one of them) provided a new force which sent the ball into A's end zone, once the ball becomes dead in the endzone in A's possession, or goes OOB behind the goal line, the result of the play is a touchback, and A will get a new series at their 20. If for some reason, the official felt that there was no new force on this play, the result of those two plays would be a safety and B would get 2 points.