touchback

noun

touch·back ˈtəch-ˌbak

plural touchbacks

: a situation in football that typically occurs when the ball is downed (see down entry 3 sense 2) behind the goal line (as after a kickoff or punt) and that results in the team that is defending the goal putting the ball back in play on its own 20- or 25-yard line

Touchbacks on kickoffs will be moved to the 25-yard line, from the 20, to give teams an incentive not to run the ball out of the end zone, one of the most dangerous plays in the game.—

Ken Belson

The punter landed 27% of his kicks inside the 20-yard line while only four ended up in the endzone for a touchback.—

Branson Nash

compare safety sense 3a(1)

Examples of touchback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Orange Lutheran picked off three passes on defense, Cuneo making the last on a tumbling interception in the end zone for a touchback with 4:10 left. —

Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024 The ball went out of the end zone for a touchback, and the Texans will take over on their own 20. 2h ago / 5:59 PM PDT Copied Share End of first quarter: Jets 0, Texans 0 Rohan Nadkarni Still scoreless after one quarter in New Jersey, but the Jets are in the midst of their best drive of the game. —

NBC News, 1 Nov. 2024 The new penalty for a typical touchback is the ball is placed on the 30-yard line. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2024 Remember, the original proposal for the rule change called for the touchback line to be at the 35, not the 30. —

Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for touchback