After the NFL introduced new kickoff rules for this season, teams are still figuring out the finer details. In preseason action between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs, the players, head coaches Andy Reid and Doug Pederson, and on-field officials were all stumped by one of those finer details.
The Jaguars were kicking off, and the Chiefs had Mecole Hardman and Deneric Prince back to receive. Prince let the ball sail over his head, thinking it was a touchback. But instead, it landed in the end zone and bounced back to the 1-yard line. Hardman then ran into the end zone, kneeled, and scooped up the ball.
Despite the confusion, Pederson called the situation a teaching moment and was pleased that the correct call was eventually made.
“I think it's a good coaching point for all teams to really coach our returners in that situation,” Pederson said. “It's definitely going to be on the coach's video that's going to come out this week, and it is really a good teaching moment for everybody, us included, for our returners.
“And it's just a great way to learn that rule and to learn the game of football.”
While Pederson was happy with learning from the experience, Reid was slightly more frustrated with how it went down.
“I think they’re trying to work that out. Normally, when a ball goes in the end zone and you touch it there, then it’s a dead ball, but we’ll get it cleared up and see what they come up with,” said Reid.
What are the NFL's new kickoff rules for the upcoming season?
This new kickoff style is called “dynamic kickoffs.” It's meant to improve player safety and increase the frequency of returners returning the kickoff. This change came in response to kickoffs reaching an all-time low return rate last season and is similar to what is utilized by the XFL.
Kickers will still kick from the 35-yard line, but the other layers on the kicking team won’t line up there. Instead, players on the kickoff team will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. For the receiving team, at least nine blockers must line up between the 35 to 30-yard line. Meanwhile, for the return team, up to two designated return men can line up deep to field the kickoff.
The distance from the 20-yard line to the goal line is considered the landing zone. Kickers are encouraged to kick the ball in the landing zone, as kicks short of this zone result in the receiving team starting with the ball at the 40-yard line. Kicks that go deep and land (not bounce) in the end zone can result in a touchback.
Touchbacks put the receiving team at the 30-yard line, and fair catches are prohibited. While a returner can allow a ball in the landing zone to bounce into the end zone, those touchbacks place the ball at the 20-yard line. It's a lot to take in, and hopefully, NFL teams have it figured out before the regular season starts.
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