An incomplete pass is a term in gridiron football which means that a legal

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...

is not successfully caught by an eligible offensive player within the field of play. An incomplete pass can occur if (1) the ball hits the ground in the field of play before a player on either team gains possession; (2) the ball is caught by a player on either team who, at the moment of possession is out of bounds; or (3) the ball is thrown outside the field of play. An incomplete pass causes the down to advance by one and the offensive team gains no yards. The game clock is stopped.

Becoming a fumble or interception

If the receiver catches the ball and has possession of it, then loses control of it for any reason and a player from the other team catches it a fumble is called. In the NFL, both feet must be in bounds and the player must have clear control of the ball and make a football move or have the ability to perform such an act. In other leagues, only one foot must be in bounds with clear possession carrying a lighter burden of proof. If a member of the opposing team gains possession of the ball within the field of play, before it hits the ground, it is ruled an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

Pass interference

If the receiver (or a defending player) is touched by a member of the opposing team in a way that prevents him from catching the ball, it is ruled

pass interference In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference (PI) is a foul that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, ...

, resulting in a penalty against the touching player's team. The exception to this rule is if the ball is deemed "uncatchable" by the referees, in which case a pass interference penalty is impossible.

Intentional incomplete pass

Often, whenever defensive players

blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

the quarterback, to avoid a sack, the quarterback will do what is known as "throwing the football away". This is a deliberate incomplete pass thrown off of the field in order to avoid loss of yardage. The main difference between this and

intentional grounding In gridiron football, intentional grounding is a violation of the rules where "a passer...throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion."Official Rules of the NFL, Rule 8-3-1. This typically happens when a quarterback about to be ...

is that the quarterback must leave the "pocket" of offensive lineman and throw past the line of scrimmage, so there is no penalty issued. Spiking the ball is also considered to be a legal incomplete pass.

League rules

The specifics of what constitutes an incomplete pass vary among leagues and throughout time. For instance, at the time of the

Immaculate Reception The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders (now La ...

, an NFL rule stated in the pertinent part that once an offensive player touches a pass, he is the only offensive player eligible to catch the pass. "However, if a efensiveplayer touches hepass first, or simultaneously with or subsequent to its having been touched by only one ffensiveplayer, then all ffensiveplayers become and remain eligible" to catch the pass; this rule was later rescinded in 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Incomplete Pass American football terminology Canadian football terminology