Super Bowl XLVII and the Safety Kick Rule

[StusBlues]

The denouement of Super Bowl XLVII came with Baltimore’s Sam Koch, punting out of his own end zone, scrambling for a bit before exiting the field to award the 49ers a safety, cutting the Ravens’ lead to three points but running the clock down to two seconds.* Koch then punted on the ensuing free kick, which, since the 49ers failed to pull a TD on the return, was the last play of the game.

My question is this: if Koch had managed to scramble until the clock read :00 and then bopped out of the end zone, would the Niners still get a free kick with no time on the clock, or would the game have been over?

What say you?

*Wikipedia says four; I remember two.

[Quercus]

It appears (section 4-8-2 g) that the half is extended for a safety kick only if the safety is a result of a foul in the end zone. So, I think, in this case if the kicker had managed run around for another three seconds, then game over immediately upon the safety.

[Telemark]

The Colts-Lions game this week ended on a safety (against the losing team) after time ran out. The safety was a result of an illegal forward pass in the end zone. There was no safety kick.

[Quercus]

@Telemark

The Colts-Lions game this week ended on a safety (against the losing team) after time ran out. The safety was a result of an illegal forward pass in the end zone. There was no safety kick.

Since I still remember the rule, the language is that the receiving team can request an untimed safety kick after a penalty-caused safety that ends a half. So the Lions could have (and should have) declined the kick and walked away with a win, rather than accepting the risk of someone being injured on the kick (or the remote chance of a fumble returned by the Colts for a game-winning TD).

[That_Don_Guy]

@StusBlues

The denouement of Super Bowl XLVII came with Baltimore’s Sam Koch, punting out of his own end zone, scrambling for a bit before exiting the field to award the 49ers a safety, cutting the Ravens’ lead to three points but running the clock down to two seconds. Koch then punted on the ensuing free kick, which, since the 49ers failed to pull a TD on the return, was the last play of the game.

My question is this: if Koch had managed to scramble until the clock read :00 and then bopped out of the end zone, would the Niners still get a free kick with no time on the clock, or would the game have been over?

What say you?

Depends on what you mean by “bopped.” If you mean “run out of bounds in the end zone,” the game is over. This happens quite a bit at high school and college levels as well - with about five seconds left in the game, and the team with the ball is ahead by 3+ points but has fourth down, they snap the ball, and then the QB turns around and runs towards, into, and through, his own end zone.

I remember one game where a player did this, but, rather than run out of the end zone, he thought that being in the end zone was all that it took, and he threw the ball up in the air - and an opposing player caught it; world’s shortest pick-six.

[Telemark]

@Quercus

Since I still remember the rule, the language is that the receiving team can request an untimed safety kick after a penalty-caused safety that ends a half. So the Lions could have (and should have) declined the kick and walked away with a win, rather than accepting the risk of someone being injured on the kick (or the remote chance of a fumble returned by the Colts for a game-winning TD).

Here’s the text:

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 clearly there would be no kick unless the team receiving the safety requested it. Based on the wording if the Colts were tackled in the end zone for a safety or ran out of bounds there would be no option for the safety kick.