One of the easiest ways to become confused about forward progress and the momentum exception is to think they are closely related. In reality, they are almost opposites.
The key is recognizing one simple distinction.
Did an opponent contact the runner with force?
That single question determines which rule applies.
Forward Progress Requires Contact with Force
Forward progress is the point where the ball’s advance toward the opponent’s goal line has been involuntarily stopped by the action of an opponent. The word involuntarily does not appear in the Rules Book, but it is a helpful way to remember the concept. The runner did not choose to stop advancing. An opponent caused it.
The covering official’s responsibility is to mark the yard line where that advancement ended.
A runner does not have to be wrapped up or physically restrained before forward progress can be ruled stopped. A forceful blow that clearly drives the runner backward may be enough. Conversely, if a runner meets resistance and then voluntarily retreats to search for another running lane, the official should not award forward progress to the point of initial contact. The runner chose to change direction.
The common thread is that an opponent’s forceful contact must be responsible for ending the advance.
Consider this play.
Receiver A44 leaps in Team B’s end zone and gains possession of a forward pass while airborne. Before he returns to the ground, B24 contacts him in the end zone and drives him backward. A44 first lands on the B-1, where he is downed.
The result is a touchdown.
Although A44 landed in the field of play, his forward progress was stopped in the end zone by B24’s contact. A44 must still complete the catch by contacting the ground inbounds while maintaining possession. Although his forward progress was stopped in the end zone, the ball does not become dead until he completes the catch and is downed at the B-1. If he fails to complete the catch, the pass is incomplete.
Now remove only one element from the play.
Receiver A44 again catches the pass while airborne in the end zone, but this time no defender contacts him. He lands on the B-1 where he is downed.
This is not a touchdown.
Without forceful contact by an opponent, there is no forward progress spot in the end zone. The ball became dead when A44 is downed at the B-1.
The difference between six points and a snap from the B-1 is forceful contact by an opponent.
The Momentum Exception Requires No Forceful Contact
Now consider an interception near the goal line.
B33 intercepts Team A’s forward pass on the B-2. Immediately after securing possession, A12 hits him and drives him into the end zone, where he is downed.
Many officials are tempted to think about the momentum exception. Don’t.
This is a forward progress play.
Because an opponent’s forceful contact stopped B33’s advance, the ball belongs where his forward progress ended. The next snap will be at the B-2 because of forward progress, not because of the momentum exception.
Now change only one fact.
B33 intercepts the pass on the B-2, but no Team A player contacts him. His own momentum carries him into the end zone, where he is downed.
Now the covering official should immediately begin thinking about the Rule 8-5-2a momentum exception.
If all the requirements of the exception are satisfied, the ball belongs at the spot where possession was gained—in this case, the B-2. The ruling is not based on forward progress because no opponent stopped the runner’s advance. Instead, the rules recognize that the player’s own momentum carried him into the end zone and prevent what otherwise would have been ruled a safety.
Don’t Mix the Two Concepts
Officials sometimes arrive at the correct spot for the wrong reason.
In both interception plays above, the ball will next be snapped from the B-2. However, the reason is completely different.
In the first play, the ball is spotted there because forward progress was stopped by an opponent’s forceful contact.
In the second play, the ball is spotted there because the momentum exception applies after the player’s own momentum carried him into the end zone.
The spot is identical. The rule is not.
Final Thought
When these situations arise, resist the temptation to jump directly to a ruling.
Instead, ask yourself one question first.
Was the player forcefully contacted by an opponent?
If the answer is yes, think forward progress.
If the answer is no, and the player possessed the ball near his own goal line before his momentum carried him into the end zone, think momentum exception.
One question. Two different rules. A much easier path to getting the play right.
Quiz
Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer. (Choose all that apply.)
Try from the B-3. During K54’s successful kick, R23 is flagged for roughing the holder. A Team K assistant coach immediately runs onto the field and screams profanities at R23, drawing a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
- Team K may choose to enforce the penalty for R23’s foul from the B-3
- Team K may choose to keep the point for the successful kick try and enforce the penalty for R23’s foul from the succeeding spot
- The penalties must offset
- Team R will choose to enforce the penalty for the Team K assistant coach’s USC foul from the succeeding spot
Review Rules 2-16-2f, 8-3-5, 9-8-1a, 10-1-3, 10-2-1, 10-2-6, 10-4-5a