Another thing about the old NFL I just wanted to mention. I don’t know when the rule changed but back in the 50s (and presumably earlier) a runner wasn’t down until his forward motion stopped. If a player was tackled and he slid forward 3 yards, he got that yardage. If he was able to pop up he could continue running. Naturally, this led to piling on and more injuries and eventually the rule was changed.
I’m trying to imagine what that would look like today.
Unlikely scenario but what happens is the opposing team manages to intercept a point after attempt? Can they theoretically run down the field and score a touchdown?
I’m pretty sure I saw a game once on a snow-covered field where a dude slid for a full five yards after going down.
Close. If a team intercepts the two point conversion (or recovers a fumble or blocks an extra point kick) and returns it to the opposite endzone, they get two points.
And in the “how could this ever possibly happen?” category, if either team scores a safety on an extra point attempt, that team is awarded one point.
Attempted interception runback gets out of the endzone and the returner fumbles, at which point it goes out of bounds in the endzone. B was responsible for the ball and it became dead in their endzone = safety, one point.
Yes, sure, it could physically happen, but it’s vanishingly rare - never in the NFL, only a few times in college. And going the other way - the defense scores a safety on the offense - has never happened.
I saw Eric Berry do this live on TV.
It was epic. 
Suppose that, on a kickoff, the ball lands on the 1 yard line but a player on the receiving team deliberately bats or kicks the ball out the back of the end zone. Touchback or safety?
Agreed that it would be a safety.
I think it’s also a safety if the receiving team catches the ball outside the end zone, but then runs into their own end zone and is tackled.
I’ve seen something similar, where a bonehead receiver gets the ball out of the end zone then backs up into the end zone to kneel in a mistaken attempt at a touchback.
Ooh I think I found footage of this:
Classic.
That was exactly the example I was thinking of as I read your post. I remember that play well. :smack:
Yep. There was another incident few years back where a returner caught the ball in the end zone, stepped out of the end zone, realized it would be better to have a touchback, and then stepped back and took a knee in the end zone. Which is a safety.
I’d like to note that batting or kicking a loose ball is* a penalty, but in the described case it would be declined to get the safety.
*: should be. Seattle caught a massive break a few years ago when an obvious batted ball wasn’t called. KJ Wright knocked a Lions fumble out the back of the endzone to get a touchback, but the penalty would have given three back back to the Lions.
Is there a difference in points for a touchback compared to a safety?
There are no points for a touchback.
Touchback. When the Kicking Team kicks the ball into the endzone (or the Receiving Team catches the ball and kneels on it in the endzone), the Receiving Team gains possession of the ball at their own 25 yard line.
Safety: When a player with possession of the ball is tackled in their own endzone, the team on defense is awarded 2 points, and the team on offense has to punt the ball (well, it’s technically a “free kick”) from the 20.
Just to note, since Northern Piper, who asked the question, is Canadian – this is a notable difference from the Canadian game.
In Canadian football, a kickoff, punt, or missed field goal that goes into the endzone without being returned out of the endzone by the defense, or which goes out of bounds in the end zone, is called a “single” (or a “rouge,” though I think that that may be an archaic term), and nets the kicking team one point. (Note, also, that the end zone in Canadian football is 20 yards deep, and that the goal posts are on the goal line.)
Also, in the NFL, the defense/receiving team only gets the ball at the 25 yard line after a touchback on a kickoff, and that’s a relatively recent rule change – until a few years ago, such a play would lead to a spot at the 20 yard line, which is where other touchbacks (like after a punt, or an interception or fumble recovery in the end zone) would be placed.
Yes, that was my confusion. Thought that a touchback would be a score of some sort.
Also, in Canadian football the rules on possession are more wide open. No problem with batting a ball out of bounds. Last team to touch it before it went out of bounds gets possession.