Punts occur in the NFL when a team feels it’s better off kicking the ball to the opposing team rather than trying to get the first down. When the receiving team touches the punt but fails to field it, that is “muffing” the punt.
In the NFL’s rulebook, a muff is defined as “the touching of a loose ball by a player in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain possession of it.” Let’s break down everything you need to know about the NFL’s muffed punt rules.
How the Muffed Punt Rule Works
This rule states that if a returner muffs the punt on a fair catch, the ball cannot be advanced forward by the receiving team. This is because the receiving team never gained possession of the football.
The kicking team is able to recover the kick and it counts as a turnover. However, it cannot be advanced. An example of this can be seen back in 2023 when the Minnesota Vikings faced the Seattle Seahawks.
Pete Carroll is very unhappy that you can't advance a muffed punt for a touchdown.🏈 pic.twitter.com/mOKAZmIq69
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 11, 2023
Let’s take a closer look at this game-changing play between Minnesota and Seattle.
The Seahawks punted the ball, the Vikings’ returner muffed it after signaling a fair catch, and Seattle recovered it and returned it for a touchdown. However, the refs made it clear that the kicking team can’t advance the football and spotted the ball where the fumble recovery occurred.
Had the Vikings’ returner not called a fair catch, it would have been considered a fumble as soon as it touched a Minnesota player, allowing Seattle to return it for a touchdown.
Even one of the league’s premier football minds didn’t know the rule in this specific situation, as Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was furious with the refs after this play. The rule is nuanced given the returner’s option to signal a fair catch (as seen in this play), but the NFL has this rule to distinguish between muffed fair catches and fumbles.
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The key here is that for a fumble to occur, the offense must gain possession first, whereas on a muffed fair catch, the receiving team never had possession.
Overall, it can certainly be frustrating for fans who don’t know the exact rule. However, what we want to drill into our brains in regards to the muffed punt rule is that a player has to fully gain possession before anybody can move that ball in either direction.