Safety touch

The phrase “safety” in American football refers to a specific scoring play that rewards two points to the defensive team. A safety is scored in various ways, including when a ball carrier from the offensive team is tackled in his own end zone or when the offensive team commits a foul in their own end zone 1. The word “safety touch” appears to be more often connected with Canadian football, while in other circumstances, it is used interchangeably with “safety” to refer to the same scoring play.

The official NFL Football Operations website indicates that safety is a two-point scoring play, albeit the term “safety touch” is not used.