Find all the articles in our American football frequently asked questions on this link. Today, offensive penalties in the NFL.
After the defensive penalties, let's focus today on the offensive referees' calls.
Offensive line penalties
– False start (false start)
Before the ball is kicked, the offensive players must remain stationary, except for two players (the quarterback and another who can change sides).
The majority of the time, it is the offensive linemen who are penalized by a false start. Due to poor timing with the player in the center engaging the ball. Or, because the player anticipated his duel with an attacker. The penalty is 5 yards.
If he is one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL, Laremy Tunsil (Houston) is too often guilty of false starts. After three 2024 matches, he had already committed seven while the second most penalized had only three.
– Retention (holding)
When an offensive lineman is overwhelmed by his opponent, he is often tempted to hold the defender by the arm, shoulder or jersey. Wanting to prevent his quarterback from being hit, he nevertheless makes a mistake. The attack keeps its attempt but must replay it 10 yards back.
In 2023, no offensive lineman has been more guilty of “holding” than Rashawn Slater of the Los Angeles Chargers.
– Block in the back (ilegal block in the back)
After engaging the ball, a lineman has the right to advance on the field to block an opponent. But he must always face it head on. If he pushes him in the back then the penalty is 10 yards.
– Chop block
When a defender is already engaged in a duel with an attacker, another offensive player can come and perform a “two-handed hold”. On the other hand, he cannot contact the defender at the leg level when the latter is already in a duel. The penalty causes the offense to move back 15 yards to replay the attempt.
Penalties on the quarterback
– Deadline exceeded (delay of game)
When an action ends, the team with the ball has 40 seconds to begin the next one. If the offense fails to do so before the clock runs out, the referees stop the action and replay the action 5 yards back. Even if he is not necessarily responsible for this failure, the referees always whistle this penalty against the quarterback.
– Intentional grounding of the ball (intentional grounding)
When a quarterback is put under pressure before having identified a player to target, he has the right to throw the ball into touch or to the ground. Although the attempt is unsuccessful, the quarterback thus avoids being put on the ground (sack) and losing ground.
But it must respect three conditions for it to be valid. Be in an area delimited by the starting positions of your two offensive tackles, before engaging the ball. If he is outside this zone then his throw must exceed the engagement line. And if the ball does not cross the faceoff line, then the ball must be thrown near an eligible teammate (i.e., not an offensive lineman).
If he does not respect these conditions, the penalty is a loss of attempt and 10 yards: for example, if the fault is committed on 2nd and 8 yards to go then the following play will be a 3rd and 18 yards.
Note that if the quarterback commits this infraction in his end zone, the penalty is called “safety”: 2 points for the opponents, who also regain possession (after a punt).
Penalties on other offensive players
– Illegal training (illegal training)
In attack, seven players must be aligned before engaging the ball. If a player stands too far back, the game is stopped and the penalty is 5 yards. A player has the right to move laterally before engagement (” motion“), if two of them move, the penalty will also be 5 yards.
The penalties mentioned on the offensive line can also be called against all offensive players: receivers, runners and tight ends can anticipate the ball being engaged and commit a false start. As well as being sanctioned for restraint, block in the back and chop block.
