# Touchdown scored by two players simultaneously **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 28, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258 "2016-11-28T04:20:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/1 "2016-11-28T04:20:41Z")
Watching one play in the Chiefs-Broncos game tonight, where two Chiefs players celebrated on their way to the end zone prior to even crossing the goal line, made me wonder - what if two Chiefs players simultaneously held on to the football as a form of premature celebration - the end of the football in one Chief’s hand and the other end in the other Chief’s hand - and crossed the end zone - which player gets credited with the touchdown? Both? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/2 "2016-11-28T05:59:59Z")
I’m not certain that there’s a rule that would cover this (i.e., two players on the same team simultaneously having possession), but my guess would be that it would be credited to the player who had possession of the ball first (i.e, just before the other player put a hand on the ball). ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/3 "2016-11-28T17:47:44Z")
I’m pretty sure that you have to lose possession in order to for someone else to gain, it, so that wouldn’t apply. However, imagine a hail mary where two offensive players come down with the ball, each with two hands on it, not realizing that they are struggling to take it away from a teammate. Who gets credit there? I guess you probably review and see who touched it first? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/4 "2016-11-28T17:53:56Z")
Coin flip? Or maybe give them both credit. I wonder if this has ever come up in terms of possession of the ball, but I can see it in questions of tackles and sacks. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/5 "2016-11-28T18:21:07Z")
I can’t imagine a rule because it doesn’t matter to the game at all. It would only matter to fantasy, and to players who have a certain bonus for X number of yard/TDs/etc. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/6 "2016-11-28T18:23:18Z")
I didn’t see the play, but can only imagine two burly linemen recovering a fumble and joyously skipping, in unison, the last ten yards into the end zone, tossing flower petals with their other hands while “Happy Together” played over the PA system. Was that pretty much what happened? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/7 "2016-11-28T18:33:14Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t imagine a rule because it doesn’t matter to the game at all. It would only matter to fantasy, and to players who have a certain bonus for X number of yard/TDs/etc. On the other hand, baseball has a great many rules for matters that similarly don’t effect the outcome of the game. Earning a base has the same effect on the game as getting there on an error, and yet the rulebooks define errors, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/8 "2016-11-28T18:35:35Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > I didn’t see the play, but can only imagine two burly linemen recovering a fumble and joyously skipping, in unison, the last ten yards into the end zone, tossing flower petals with their other hands while “Happy Together” played over the PA system. > > Was that pretty much what happened? No, it was just 2 Chiefs high-fiving on their way to the end zone, but that got me on to the tangent of what if they’d celebrated by intentionally holding the football together as they crossed the goal plane and muddle up the scoring statistics-keeping. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/9 "2016-11-28T19:25:28Z")
I believe it’s possible to be credited with half of a sack, if two people bring down the quarterback at the same time. I’ve never heard of any other stat being divisible, however. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/10 "2016-11-28T20:14:51Z")
The closest thing I could find in the NCAA Football Statistician’s Manual is a reference to two players recovering a fumble simultaneously; it says that the official statistician would use his judgment to choose one of the two players. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/11 "2016-11-30T00:03:24Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > I’m pretty sure that you have to lose possession in order to for someone else to gain, it, so that wouldn’t apply. > > However, imagine a hail mary where two offensive players come down with the ball, each with two hands on it, not realizing that they are struggling to take it away from a teammate. Who gets credit there? I guess you probably review and see who touched it first? Imagine that the second player isn’t on the offense, but the defense. Then the answer should be obvious. On review you need to see who first took possession and whether they maintained possession throughout. Sometimes that’s a subjective call, but football is full of subjective calls (which often lead to coaches yelling at refs). ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/12 "2016-11-30T00:39:18Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Imagine that the second player isn’t on the offense, but the defense. Then the answer should be obvious. Unless you’re a replacement ref, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/13 "2016-11-30T00:42:24Z")
I’m thinking the question just doesn’t make sense as posed. If someone else has an equal amount of control of the football neither of the two players has possession of it. Until someone obtains possession of the football in the end zone (which requires having more control over the football than any other player) there is no touchdown. If they both drop it before either of them has possession it’s a live ball or possibly an incomplete pass depending how the play went to that point. But maybe the NFL uses a different definition of ‘possession’, I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/14 "2016-11-30T14:44:31Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > Unless you’re a replacement ref, I guess. I was just going to mention that. Still mad? Moi? fuckin seachickens… ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/15 "2016-11-30T15:45:46Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Imagine that the second player isn’t on the offense, but the defense. Then the answer should be obvious. > > On review you need to see who first took possession and whether they maintained possession throughout. Sometimes that’s a subjective call, but football is full of subjective calls (which often lead to coaches yelling at refs). Actually, the [NFL rules](http://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2015-nfl-rulebook/#section-1-forward-pass) specifically state that if an offensive & defensive player both catch the ball simultaneously, it counts as a completed pass for the passing team: > [@](#): > > Item 5. Simultaneous Catch. If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball. So the rules do address the possibility of a simultaneous catch between opponents, and declare who actually gets possession. Since in the case of two players on the same team catching the ball simultaneously there doesn’t have to be an on field decision, the rules don’t address it. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touchdown-scored-by-two-players-simultaneously/773258/16 "2016-12-12T18:23:29Z")
Traveling At least that is how the refs in a Harlem Globetrotter vs Washington Generals would call it!