What is intentional grounding?

Intentional grounding is a penalty in American football that is called when a quarterback purposely throws an incomplete pass to avoid being tackled for a loss. It is considered a violation of the rules because it is seen as an unfair way to avoid a loss of yardage.

In order for intentional grounding to be called, there are specific criteria that must be met. The quarterback must be in the pocket (meaning behind the offensive line of scrimmage) and there must not be any eligible receivers in the area where the ball is thrown. Additionally, the pass must not cross the line of scrimmage.

When intentional grounding is called, the offense is penalized by losing both a down and a significant amount of yardage. The penalty results in a loss of 10 yards from the spot of the foul, as well as a loss of down, meaning that it will now be 2nd down instead of 1st down, for example.

Intentional grounding is meant to prevent quarterbacks from intentionally throwing the ball away as a way to avoid pressure from the defense. It is designed to keep the game fair and ensure that teams cannot gain an unfair advantage by simply throwing the ball away whenever they are in trouble.