Was watching a game recently and this came up.. Frankie tracked down the wiki article, pretty unusual, and interesting to learn after years of watching the NFL that there is a completely different and almost never used way to score.

Fair catch kick

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The fair catch kick is a little-known, rarely-used rule in some forms of American football that allows a team, after making a fair catch of an opponent's kick, to attempt a field goal freely from the spot of the catch. It is one of the three types of free kicks; the other two are the kickoff and the safety kick. At one time a very similar rule existed in rugby union called goal from mark.

Contents [hide] 1 Rules and variations 2 Circumstances of use 3 Known attempts 3.1 Regular season and postseason 3.2 Exhibition games 4 Declined opportunities 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Rules and variations

Fair catch kicks can only occur when a member of the receiving team signals for, and successfully makes, a fair catch (or is awarded a fair catch after a kick-catch interference penalty.) That team then has the option of restarting play either by snap or fair catch kick. If the team elects the fair catch kick option, the kicking team lines up at the spot where the fair catch was made, and the opposing team must line up at least ten yards downfield. The kicker then may either place kick the ball from a teammate's hold (a kickoff tee may be used in high school) or drop kick the ball. Three points are awarded for kicking the ball through the uprights.

The fair catch kick has unique rules which distinguish it from other free kicks, such as kickoffs. Most significantly, it is the only variant in which the kicking team can score a field goal. Also, onside kicks are not permitted; the ball cannot be recovered by the kicking team unless first touched by the receiving team. In high school football, if the kicking team can recover or catch the ball beyond the receiving team's free-kick line before the ball becomes dead, they take possession of the ball. The clock starts when the ball is kicked. If the kick is unsuccessful, the rules are similar to that of a normal missed field goal: the opposing team has the option of fielding the ball and attempting a runback, or of taking possession at the spot of the kick.^[1] A successful fair catch kick is followed by a normal kick off.

Fair catch kicks are permitted in the National Football League and at the high school level. Under National Federation of State High School Associations rules, a fair catch kick can be attempted under more circumstances; the option remains available if a dead ball foul occurs before the next play, or if a live ball foul occurs which leads to a replay of the down.^{[citation needed]} Fair catch kicks are not permitted at the collegiate level under NCAA rules.^[2]

The last successful fair catch kick in the NFL was by Mac Percival in 1968, scoring the game-winning field goal for the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers. Since then, eleven fair-catch kicks have been attempted. Most recently, the Arizona Cardinals attempted an unsuccessful fair catch kick against the New York Giants on November 23, 2008. ^[3]

[edit] Circumstances of use

A fair catch kick is very rarely attempted, as only a specific combination of circumstances makes it advantageous for the receiving side. The punt or free kick must be fair-caught at a point close enough to make a field goal attempt plausible. There will usually be insufficient time to run more than one play from scrimmage, so is only likely to be seen when the punt would otherwise be the last or next-to-last play of the half. If occurring in the second half, the receiving team would presumably be tied or trailing by three points or fewer so that a successful field goal is significant. Finally, when these rare circumstances are present, a well-coached kicking team should recognize that it is not in their best interests to allow their opponents to make a successful fair catch. They may thus employ any of several tactics to avoid that outcome, such as deliberately kicking the ball out of bounds or far away from any opponent, or running a non-punting play from scrimmage that allows the game clock to expire safely.

In the NFL, a fair catch kick may still be attempted if the half ends on the fair catch play. This is not automatic; a team's captain or coach must exercise this option.

There are several reasons to prefer a fair catch kick to a normal field goal attempt from scrimmage. A fair catch kick is taken from the same yard-line of the catch rather than the usual seven to eight yards back. The defending team must remain 10 yards downfield before the kick. This allows the placekicker a full running start rather than the normal two-step approach, with no concerns about a poor snap from center or a low angle of trajectory that might allow the defense to block the kick.

[edit] Known attempts

All attempts in this list are from National Football League games. The Game Time column shows the time remaining in minutes and seconds, and the number of the quarter.

[edit] Regular season and postseason

Date	Kicker	Team	Opponent	Yards	Result	Game time	Notes
November 20, 1933	Ken Strong	New York Giants	Green Bay Packers	30	good	3rd quarter	[4]
October 23, 1955	Ben Agajanian	New York Giants	Pittsburgh Steelers	56	missed	0:30, 2nd	[5]
November 2, 1958	Gordy Soltau	San Francisco 49ers	Detroit Lions	61	wide right	0:15, 2nd	[6]
September 13, 1964	Sam Baker	Philadelphia Eagles	New York Giants	47	short	0:00, 2nd	[7]
September 13, 1964	Paul Hornung	Green Bay Packers	Chicago Bears	52	good	0:00, 2nd	[8]
December 4, 1966	Fred Cox	Minnesota Vikings	Atlanta Falcons	40	good	0:00, 2nd	[9]
November 23, 1967	Bruce Gossett	Los Angeles Rams	Detroit Lions	55	short	0:03, 2nd	[10]
November 3, 1968	Mac Percival	Chicago Bears	Green Bay Packers	43	good	0:20, 4th	game-winning kick[11]
December 8, 1968	Fred Cox	Minnesota Vikings	San Francisco 49ers	47	short	0:00, 2nd	[12]
October 5, 1969	Curt Knight	Washington Redskins	San Francisco 49ers	56	wide left	0:02, 4th	Game tied 17-17[13]
November 30, 1969	Tom Dempsey	New Orleans Saints	San Francisco 49ers	57	short/wide left	0:00, 2nd	[14]
November 1, 1970	Curt Knight	Washington Redskins	Denver Broncos	49	missed	0:00, 2nd	[15]
November 8, 1971	David Ray	Los Angeles Rams	Baltimore Colts	45	missed	0:00, 2nd	Monday Night Football[16]
November 25, 1979	Mark Moseley	Washington Redskins	New York Giants	74	short	4th quarter	[17]
September 29, 1980	Fred Steinfort	Denver Broncos	New England Patriots	73	missed	0:00, 2nd	[18]
November 18, 1984	Raul Allegre	Indianapolis Colts	New England Patriots	61	short	0:00, 2nd	Fair catch of onside kick[19]
January 1, 1989	Mike Cofer	San Francisco 49ers	Minnesota Vikings	60	short	0:00, 2nd	NFC Divisional Playoff[20]
October 9, 2005	Rob Bironas	Tennessee Titans	Houston Texans	58	short	0:00, 2nd	[21]
November 23, 2008	Neil Rackers	Arizona Cardinals	New York Giants	68	short	0:05, 2nd	[22]