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NFL Video Rulebook Defensive Holding

Rule 12 Section 1 Article 6

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Rule 12 Section 1 Article 6
Rule Summary View Official Rule

Section 1 - Blocking, Use Of Hands And Arms

ARTICLE 6. DEFENSIVE HOLDING

It is a foul for defensive holding if:

  1. a defensive player tackles or holds any opponent other than a runner, except as permitted in Article 5. For this purpose, a player is considered a runner while in the pocket if a teammate pretends to give him the ball and/or he pretends to possess the ball.
  2. during a punt, field goal attempt, or Try kick attempt, B1 grabs and pulls an offensive player out of the way, allowing B2 to shoot the gap (pull-and-shoot) in an attempt to block an apparent kick, except if B1 is advancing toward the kicker.

Penalty: For defensive holding: Loss of five yards and an automatic first down.

Additional Rules

Dynamic Kickoff

  • Rule 6

Hip-Drop Tackle

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 18

Play Clock

  • Rule 4 Section 6

Scoring Plays

  • Rule 11 Sections 1-5

Safety

  • Rule 11 Section 5

Forward Pass

  • Rule 8 Section 1

Backward Pass

  • Rule 8 Section 7

Ineligible Receiver

  • Rule 8 Section 1 Article 6

Fumbling in the End Zone

  • Rule 8 Section 7 Article 3

Down by Contact

  • Rule 7 Section 2 Article 1

Use of the Helmet

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 10

Roughing the Passer

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 11

Completing a Catch

  • Rule 8 Section 1 Articles 3-4

Non-Football Act Fouls

  • Rule 12 Section 3

Facemask

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 15

Fair Catch

  • Rule 10 Section 2

Clipping

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 1

Illegal Formation

  • Rule 7 Section 5 Article 1

Illegal Motion

  • Rule 7 Section 4 Article 8

Illegal Shift

  • Rule 7 Section 4 Article 7

Defensive Pass Interference

  • Rule 8 Section 5

Offensive Pass Interference

  • Rule 8 Section 5

Offensive Holding

  • Rule 12 Section 1 Article 3

Illegal Contact

  • Rule 8 Section 4 Articles 1-4

Horse Collar

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 16

Chop Block

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 5

Low Block

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 4

Illegal Use of Hands / Facemask

  • Rule 12 Sections 1-2

Pre-Snap Fouls

  • Rule 3 Section 4 Article 2

Neutral Zone Infraction

  • Rule 7 Section 4 Article 4

Illegal Block Above the Waist

  • Rule 12 Section 1 Article 3

Defenseless Player

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 9

Illegal Peel Back Block

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 2

Roughing or Running Into the Kicker

  • Rule 12 Section 2 Article 12

Intentional Grounding

  • Rule 8 Section 2

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