Penalty (gridiron Football) - Intentional Fouls

Intentional Fouls

In certain situations, a team may intentionally commit a foul in order to receive a penalty that they see as advantageous:

• A delay of game penalty may be sought intentionally in order to back up the line of scrimmage prior to a punt to allow for a larger punting field.
• Defensive pass interference may be committed in or near the end zone toward the end of a game in order to prevent a touchdown. This would place the ball at or near the goal line with a first down, and give the defense of a team that is slightly ahead a chance to prevent a touchdown that would put the opponent ahead. Some leagues have considered instituting palpably unfair act calls in these situations and calling touchdowns to prevent this from occurring.
• Since a penalty will stop the clock, a team may commit a foul in order to stop the clock when no timeouts are available. Some leagues have instituted a 10-second runoff in order to negate the ability to do this.