Touchdown return

A “touchdown return” in American football often refers to a player scoring a touchdown after intercepting a pass, recovering a fumble from the opposing team, or returning a kickoff or punt. Here’s a rundown of the various forms of touchdown returns:

Interception Return for a Touchdown (Pick-Six): When a defensive player intercepts an opponent quarterback’s pass and returns it to the opposing team’s end zone.

Fumble Return for a score: When an offensive player fumbles the ball and a defensive player picks it up and returns it to the end zone, it results in a score.

Kickoff Return for a Touchdown: The receiving team can return the ball during a kickoff. A touchdown occurs when the player who catches the kickoff gets past all opposing players and into the end zone.

Punt Return for a Touchdown: A punt return for a touchdown is similar to a kickoff return. It is a touchdown if a receiving team member catches the punt and returns it to the end zone.

The fundamental characteristic of a touchdown return in each situation is that the player carrying the ball did not have it at the start of the play (unlike a running back or receiver) and must travel a considerable amount of the field to score.