Onside Kick Rules In Football: Everything You Need To Know

At certain times in a football game, one team may not want to kickoff the football deep to the other team -- opting instead for an onside kick.

This gives the kicking team the opportunity to recover the ball and turn it back over to their own offense.

True onside kicks are normally attempted near the end of a game. When a team who is about to kick off is trailing and needs to get the ball back to score, they can attempt an onside kick.

Instead of kicking the ball deep to the other team and allowing their offense to take over, they will instead try an onside kick that gives them the opportunity to recover what amounts to a fumble.

If the kicking team is successful at recovering the ball, their own offense will take over from the spot where they recovered it.

This then gives the kicking team an opportunity to score again quickly to overcome a deficit late in a football game.

There are specific onside kick rules that regulate how teams attempt them, and what must happen for the kicking team to legally recover the ball.

Some of these rules can be a little complicated, though...

So, let's take an in-depth look at what the rules for an onside kick are, and how the kicking team can attempt to recover and score late in the game.

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