Strange but true: NFL team could, in theory, score one-point safety
Time to review the league’s new extra-point rules, shall we?
Yes, the single-point after-touchdown try is now longer; you likely have heard by now that it’s a 33-yard attempt to turn six points into seven with a made kick.
But did you know a team could score a one-point safety for the first time in league history?
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The rule changes that allow for the defensive team to try to prevent an extra point/two-point try also allow a two-point safety the other way. Example: After a TD, the Seahawks go for two, Russell Wilson tries to throw an out route to Jimmy Graham, the ball is intercepted by Alec Ogletree and run back 98 yards. Not only do the Seahawks fail on the conversion but — like the rule the NCAA has had for years — the Rams would be awarded two points, for a four-point swing.
But imagine this scenario …
As noted by the New York Times, there’s a chance for a 1-point safety, too. Say the Seahawks instead go for the extra-point try and it’s blocked. The ball caroms backward and is pinballed down the field toward the opposite end zone. A defender — Ogletree, let’s say — picks it up and runs toward his end zone but fumbles before he reaches paydirt, and the ball either is recovered by a Seahawk or is fumbled out of the end zone.
Boom! One point for the Rams. Jeff Fisher’s ears just perked up.
Is it likely? No. In fact, the one-pointer might be the rarest play in football. But it has happened.
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This is a more likely way to score such a safety, which happened in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl between Oregon and Kansas State. The extra-point kick is blocked and the ball goes forward, toward the much closer end zone. The defender picks it up, tries to return it and is tackled by an Oregonian in the end zone to earn one point the hard way.
Is this going to happen much? At all? Who knows?
But it’s fun to imagine the scoring possibilities. There only have been 33 games in NFL history where a team has finished the game with exactly two points; the last time we had a 0-0 tie in the league was 1943. And naturally, we’ve never had a team finish with one measly point.
THAT COULD CHANGE!
Again, will that happen? Oh, probably not, but boy, oh boy, if that were to happen, one most certainly would be the loneliest number. Scoring one point actually be worse than getting shut out.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
