Safety ( gridiron football score ) - wikipedia Safety ( gridiron football score ) This article is about a form of scoring in gridiron football. For the defensive position, see Safety ( gridiron football position ). For the topic of football medical safety, see Health issues in American football. For other uses, see Safety ( disambiguation ). In gridiron football, the safety ( American football ) or safety touch ( Canadian football ) is a scoring play that results in two points ( or, in rare cases, one point ) being awarded to the scoring team. Safeties can be scored in a number of ways, such as when a ball carrier is tackled in his own end zone or when a foul is committed by the offense in their own end zone. After a safety is scored in American football, the ball is kicked off to the team that scored the safety from the 20 - yard line ; in Canadian football, the scoring team also has the options of taking control of the ball at their own 35 - yard line or kicking off the ball, also at their own 35 - yard line. The ability of the scoring team to receive the ball through a kickoff differs from the touchdown and field goal, which require the scoring team to kick the ball off to the scored upon team. Despite being of relatively low point value, safeties can have a significant impact on the result of games, and Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats estimated that safeties have a greater abstract value than field goals, despite being worth a point less, due to the field position and reclaimed possession gained off the safety kick. Safeties are the least common method of scoring in American football but are not rare occurrences -- since 1932, a safety has occurred once every 14.31 games in the National Football League ( NFL ), or about once a week under current scheduling rules. On October 21, 1973, Fred Dryer, playing for the Los Angeles Rams against the Green Bay Packers, became the only player in NFL History to score two safeties in a single game. A much rarer occurrence is the one - point safety, which can be scored by the offense on an extra point or two - point conversion attempt ; those have occurred at least twice in NCAA Division I football since 1996, most recently at the 2013 Fiesta Bowl. No conversion safeties have occurred since at least 1940 in the NFL. A conversion safety by the defense is also possible, though highly unlikely ; although this has never occurred, it is the only possible way a team could finish with a single point in an American football game. Contents 1 Scoring a safety 1.1 American football 1.2 Canadian football 2 Resuming play after a safety 2.1 American football 2.2 Canadian football 3 Elective safeties 4 Conversion Safeties ( One - Point Safeties ) 4.1 Type A 4.2 Type B 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References Scoring a safety American football In American football, a safety is scored when any of the following conditions occur : The ball carrier is tackled or forced out of bounds in his own end zone. The ball becomes dead in the end zone, with the exception of an incomplete forward pass, and the defending team is responsible for it being there. The offense commits a foul in its own end zone. Canadian football In Canadian football, a safety touch is scored when any of the following conditions occur : The ball becomes dead in the goal area of the team in possession of the ball The ball touches or crosses the dead line or a sideline in goal after having been directed from the field of play into the Goal Area by the team scored against or as the direct result of a blocked scrimmage kick. The ball carrier is penalized for intentional grounding or an offside pass in his own goal area. Resuming play after a safety American football After a safety is scored, the ball is put into play by a free kick. The team that was scored upon must kick the ball from their own 20 - yard line and can punt, drop kick, or place kick the ball. In professional play, a kicking tee can not be used -- however, a tee can be used in high school or college football. Once the ball has been kicked, it can be caught and advanced by any member of the receiving team, and it can be recovered by the kicking team if the ball travels at least 10 yards and bounces at least once or a player of the receiving team touches the ball. Canadian football After scoring a safety touch, the scoring team has the option of taking control of the ball and beginning play from their own 35 - yard line, kicking the ball off from their 35 - yard line, or accepting a kickoff from the 25 - yard line of the team that conceded the score. If a kickoff is chosen it must be a place kick, and the ball can be held, placed on the ground, or placed on a tee prior to the kick. As in American football, the ball must go at least ten yards before it can be recovered by the kicking team. Elective safeties In American football, intentionally conceded safeties are an uncommon strategy. Teams have utilized elective safeties to gain field position for a punt when pinned deep in their own territory and, when ahead near the end of a game, to run down the clock so as to deny the other team a chance to force a turnover or return a punt. Teams have also taken intentional safeties by kicking a loose ball out the back of their end zone, with the intent of preventing the defense from scoring a touchdown. Elective safeties are more common in Canadian football, where they can result in better field position than a punt. The 2010 Edmonton Eskimos surrendered a Canadian Football League ( CFL ) - record 14 safeties, a factor that led CFL reporter Jim Mullin to suggest increasing the value of the safety touch from two to three points as a deterrent. Conversion safeties ( one - point safeties ) Type a In American football, if a team attempting an extra point or two - point conversion ( officially known in the rulebooks as a try ) scores what would normally be a safety, that attempting team is awarded one point. This is commonly known as a conversion safety or one - point safety and it can be scored by the offense. There are at least two known occurrences of the conversion safety in Division I college football -- a November 26, 2004 game in which Texas scored against Texas A&M, and the 2013 Fiesta Bowl in which Oregon scored against Kansas State. In both games, the point - after - touchdown kick was blocked, recovered by the defense, which then fumbled or threw the ball back into its own end zone. Coincidentally, play - by - play commentator Brad Nessler of the ESPN family of networks ( currently with CBS ) called both of these games. No conversion safeties have been scored in the NFL since 1940, although it is now slightly more likely after the rule change in 2015 which allowed the defense to take possession and score on a conversion attempt. Before 2015, the only scenario in which a one - point safety could have been scored in the NFL would have involved the defense kicking or batting a loose ball out the back of its own end zone without taking possession of the ball. After the 2015 rule change, a one - point safety can also be scored after the defense takes possession and fumbles out of its own end zone or is tackled in the end zone after leaving it, as in the NCAA. Type B In college football and the NFL, a conversion safety could also be scored by the defense. To accomplish this, the team attempting the try would have to retreat all the way back to its own end zone. This is wildly implausible ; it has been hypothesized that, perhaps, such a scenario would involve a turnover on a two - point conversion attempt, followed by a defensive player fumbling while en route to the attempting team 's end zone, with the attempting team finally recovering the ball and downing it in its end zone. The other possible scenario in which this could happen is if the snap on an extra point kick attempt is wildly errant and the kicking team repeatedly bats the ball toward its end zone to avoid the defense recovering and returning it ( while not being able to recover it themselves or bat the ball out of bounds ). While such a conversion safety has never been scored by the defense, it is the only possible way in which a team could finish with a single point in an American football game. As explained by Jon Bois in SBNation 's video entitled Every NFL Score Ever Chart Party, a game can not end in the score 1 - 0, 2 - 1, 3 - 1, 4 - 1, 5 - 1 or 7 - 1 as the one point by the opposing team is only possible after a touchdown. See also List of safety records Touchback Own goal Notes Notes ^ Jump up to : At some levels of play, a forfeit would be recorded as a 1 -- 0 result. Footnotes ^ Jump up to : Burke, Brian ( September 22, 2008 ). `` What 's a Safety Really Worth ? ''. Advanced NFL Stats. Retrieved March 10, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Belson, Ken ( December 8, 2011 ). `` All That Work for 2 Points ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 5, 2012. Jump up ^ Romer, David ( April 2006 ). `` Do Firms Maximize ? Evidence from Professional Football '' ( PDF ). Journal of Political Economy. University of Chicago. 114 ( 2 ) : 364. doi : 10.1086 / 501171. Retrieved October 23, 2012. Jump up ^ NFL Rules 2012, pp. 59 -- 60. Jump up ^ NCAA Rules 2011 -- 2012, pp. 80 -- 81. Jump up ^ NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 66 -- 67. Jump up ^ CFL Rules 2011, p. 27. Jump up ^ NFL Rules 2012, pp. 29 -- 30. Jump up ^ NCAA Rule, 52 -- 53 `` > NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 15, 46, 52 -- 53. Jump up ^ CFL Rules 2011, p. 29. Jump up ^ CFL Rules 2011, pp. 36 -- 39. Jump up ^ `` Belichick 's gamble pays off for Patriots ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jump up ^ Lewerenz, Dan ( October 23, 2004 ). `` No. 25 Iowa 6, Penn State 4 ''. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jump up ^ Antonik, John ( December 1, 2007 ). `` Ouch ! ''. West Virginia Mountaineers Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas A&M Aggies ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved December 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` UCLA Bruins vs. California Golden Bears ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved December 25, 2011. Jump up ^ Craft, Kevin ( February 4, 2013 ). `` The Moral of Super Bowl XLVII : Pay Attention to Special Teams ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Warner, St. Louis Struggle Past Tampa Bay ''. The Washington Post. January 24, 2000. Retrieved October 22, 2012. Jump up ^ Manfred, Tony ( October 21, 2012 ). `` Mark Sanchez Intentionally Kicks The Ball Out Of The Back Of The Endzone In The Saddest Play Of The Weekend ''. Business Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jump up ^ Mullin, Jim. `` Mullin : Changing the Game - 3 point safety ''. CFL.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013. ^ Jump up to : NFL Rules 2012, pp. 56 -- 57. ^ Jump up to : NCAA Rules 2011 -- 2012, pp. 77 -- 79. ^ Jump up to : NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 65 -- 66. Jump up ^ Easterbrook, Greg ( December 19, 2007 ). `` TMQ Nation Fires Back ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved November 5, 2012. Jump up ^ Myerburg, Paul ( January 4, 2013 ). `` One - point safety adds spice to dull Fiesta Bowl ''. USA Today. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jump up ^ Greenburg, Chris ( January 4, 2013 ). `` Oregon 1 - Point Safety : Kansas State Blocks Ducks ' Extra Point Attempt But Gives Up Unlikely Point ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2013. Jump up ^ Burke, Timothy ( January 3, 2013 ). `` Only Two One - Point Safeties Have Ever Happened In NCAA Football History, And Brad Nessler Called Them Both ''. Deadspin. Retrieved March 17, 2013. Jump up ^ Bialik, Carl ( January 3, 2013 ). `` In Praise of the One - Point Safety ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2013. Jump up ^ Bois, Jon ( December 7, 2016 ). `` Chart Party : Scorigami, or the story of every NFL final score that has ever happened ''. SBNation. 18 : 15 in the video for the discussion of possibilities for a one - point defensive safety. Retrieved February 12, 2017. References `` Canadian Football League Rule Book '' ( pdf ). Canadian Football League. 2011. Redding, Rogers ( 2011 -- 2012 ). Halpin, Ty, ed. `` NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations '' ( pdf ). National Collegiate Athletic Association. ISSN 0736 - 5144. Colgate, Bob, ed. ( 2011 ). `` NFHS Football Rules Book '' ( pdf ). Gardener, Robert B... NFHS Publications. `` Official Playing Rules and Casebook of the National Football League '' ( pdf ). National Football League. 2012. 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Question: odds of a safety in an nfl game
Answer: once every 14.31 games in the National Football League (NFL), or about once a week under current scheduling rules