NFL's One-Point Safety: The Scoring Play That Has
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- The NFL has never recorded a one-point safety in its 106-year history, with the play only made possible by a 2015 rule change that allowed the defense to score on two-point conversions and opened the door to the obscure one-point outcome
- Kyle Hamilton intercepted Josh Allen in the end zone on a two-point conversion during the September 8, 2025 Bills-Ravens Week 1 game, then lateraled to Kyle Van Noy, who narrowly avoided surrendering a one-point safety to Buffalo by running out of the end zone before taking a knee
- The NFL rulebook states that 'If the Try results in what would ordinarily be a safety against either team, one point is awarded to the opponent' — a rule that has been in place for 11 seasons without ever being triggered
- Either the offense or defense can theoretically score a one-point safety, with the most likely path being a defensive turnover at the one-yard line followed by the returner being tackled in the end zone
- College football's FBS level has produced exactly two one-point safeties: a 2004 Texas-Texas A&M game and the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, where Oregon scored against Kansas State after the Wildcats retreated into their own end zone following a blocked extra point
- Broadcaster Brad Nessler was on the call for both college one-point safety games, according to the article, and CBS Sports HQ producer Dan Weiner attended both as well
Why it matters: The one-point safety is the only scoring outcome in the modern NFL that has literally never happened in 11 seasons since the rule enabling it was adopted. The Week 1 Bills-Ravens sequence showed that the conditions to trigger it are not theoretical — Van Noy's awareness of the rule was the only thing that prevented a one-point safety from being awarded. When it finally happens, it will almost certainly look like a chaotic turnover return gone wrong, and it could directly determine a game's outcome in a way no score has before.
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