Not finding anything on Google.
In the NFL if a team scores a touchdown just as regulation time runs out they are still able to attempt the point after or 2 point conversion as neither affect the game clock.
But what about a safety? If a team scores a safety just as time runs out, is the game over or does the other team still have to drop kick the ball back to them for one last chance to run the ball back and score?
It looks like there must be a kick if there is a safety. There is an exception ( rule 4-8-2 g).
The exception states the kick needs to be requested by the receivers.
So yes, it seems a game can end on a safety.
The monday night football game last week ended in a safety.
Alas it did.
But the ravens were already ahead. What if they were behind after that safety and clock rundown? Would the Browns have been required to kick the ball to them even though time had run out?
And yes, I realize it would have been bizarre for the Browns to run a play had they been up. I’m talking rules here, not reality.
Based on this intentional safety, as of 4 years ago the game immediately ends if there is no time left, and a subsequent free kick is not required.
However, this particular play resulted in a rule change:
ARTICLE 3. INTENTIONAL FOULS TO MANIPULATE GAME CLOCK
A team may not commit multiple fouls during the same down in an attempt to manipulate the game clock.
Penalty: For multiple fouls to run off time from the game clock: Loss of 15 yards, and the game clock will be reset to where it was at the snap. After the penalty is enforced, the game clock will start on the next snap.
I guess I should include links… Rule 4 Section 8
Article 2 (g) of the above rule states…
If a safety results from a foul during the last play of a half, the score counts. A safety kick is made if requested by the receivers.
So in your example above, if the Ravens were behind, and scored a safety on the Browns, according to the rule above if the Ravens had requested it, then the Browns would have to kick it. It appears to me from the rule, that the game could end on the safety, if the Ravens don’t request the kick. So it could go either way.
Missed the edit timeout…
After further review, the above is partially overturned. It looks like if there is no penalty there is a kick. See Rule 11 Section 5. (you can find at the above link)
It’s not in the spirit of the question but I think it’s worth pointing out that if a game goes to overtime, if a team scores a safety that will end the game.
Rule 16, Article 1, Section 3.
http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/19_2012_Overtime_Procedures.pdf
By my reading, a safety that occurs with no time left in the half ends the half, except if the safety resulted from a foul. That is, if the offensive team commits a foul in its end zone, that’s automatically a safety. (It seems that’s true whether or not the ball carrier is in the end zone, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen that.) In that one case, the defensive team can opt to receive the free kick in an untimed play.
I’ve seen safeties called for offensive holding, when called against an offensive lineman who is in the end zone when he commits the penalty. Though the ball carrier (typically the quarterback) is also in the end zone at the time when this happens, the determining factor is where the infractor is standing at the time of the penalty.
Please note that a safety is hardly ever followed by a drop kick. A safety is followed by a safety kick, which is one form of free kick. A safety kick may be either a punt, kick off of a tee, or drop kick. In practice teams choose to punt about 95% of the time, kick off perhaps 4.99% of the time, and drop kick 0.01% of the time. A few years ago I would have set the drop kick percentage at zero, but I have seen teams experimenting with drop kicks as onside kicks, and yes you can have an onside kick after a safety.
But is that the only time an untimed kick after a safety can happen? Some of this reading is a tad confusing.