DEFENSIVE FOUL | YARDAGE | PENALTY RESULT |
|---|---|---|
Unnecessary Roughness (Physical) | 10 | +10 Yards from Spot of Foul & Automatic First Down |
Stripping | 5 | +5 Yards from the Spot of the Foul & Automatic First Down |
Taunting | 10 | +10 Yards from Line of Scrimmage & Automatic First Down |
Roughing the Passer | 10 | +10 Yards from Line of Scrimmage & Automatic First Down |
Illegal Flag Pull (Before player has the ball) | 5 | +5 Yards from Line of Scrimmage & Automatic First Down |
Offsides | 5 | +5 Yards from Line of Scrimmage & Automatic First Down |
Holding | 5 | +5 Yards from the Spot of the Foul & Automatic First Down. |
Defensive Pass Interference | 10 | The ball is placed at the spot of the foul, and an automatic first down is awarded. |
Personal Foul | 15 | Fifteen-yard penalty and automatic first down or loss depending on the team penalized. |
The "Spot of Foul" vs. "Line of Scrimmage" Distinction
-
Most penalties (Offsides, Illegal Rush) are marked from the Line of Scrimmage.
-
Aggressive penalties (Holding, Stripping, Roughness) are marked from Where the foul happened. This is crucial because if a player runs 20 yards and gets held, you add 5 yards to the end of the run, you don't go back to the start.
Defensive Pass Interference (DPI)
1. The Penalty Enforcement:
-
Result: Automatic First Down.
-
Yardage: The ball is placed at the SPOT OF THE FOUL.
-
Note: If the foul occurs 15 yards downfield, the offense gains 15 yards.
-
2. The End Zone Exception (Critical Rule):
-
If DPI occurs inside the End Zone, the ball is placed at the 1-Yard Line, and it is an Automatic First Down.
-
It is NOT an automatic Touchdown.
-
3. What IS Interference? (The 3 Criteria):
-
Contact: There must be physical contact (grabbing the arm, pushing, cutting off the path) that restricts the receiver.
-
Ball in Air: The ball must be in flight. Contact before the throw is Illegal Contact/Holding (+5 yards).
-
Opportunity: The receiver must have had a reasonable opportunity to catch the ball.
4. What is NOT Interference?
-
Face Guarding: In NFL Flag, a defender is allowed to block the receiver's vision (wave hands in face) without looking back at the ball, as long as they do not make physical contact.
-
Incidental Tangling: If both players are looking for the ball and their feet get tangled, it is not a penalty.
Offensive Foul | Yardage | Result |
|---|---|---|
Illegal Run | -5 Yards from Scrimmage | Loss of Down |
Unsportsmanlike Conduct | -10 Yards from Scrimmage | Loss of Down & possible player ejection |
Impeding the Rusher | -5 Yards from Scrimmage | Loss of Down |
Offensive Pass Interference | -10 Yards from Scrimmage | Loss of Down |
Charging (Running into defender) | -10 Yards from Spot | Loss of Down |
Blocking | -5 Yards from Spot | Loss of Down |
Illegal Forward Pass | -5 Yards from Scrimmage | Loss of Down |
Delay of Game | -5 Yards from Scrimmage | Loss of Down |
Flag Guarding | -5 Yards from the Spot of the Foul | Loss of Down |
Holding | -10 yards from the spot of the foul | Loss of down and 10 yards |
False Start | -5 yards from the previous spot | Loss of down |
Illegal Motion | -5 yards from the previous spot | Loss of down |