Dead zone (gridiron football)

The Colorado Mesa Mavericks attempt a 54-yard field goal from the 37-yard line against the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions in 2016. A field goal from that range has a low rate of success but was chosen over punting or going for a 4th down conversion.

The dead zone refers to an area on the field of American or Canadian football. An offence enters the dead zone of a football field when they are on their opponent's side of the field but kicking a field goal would likely be unsuccessful (any attempt over 50 yards) and punting the ball would not dramatically change field position. The dead zone may exist anywhere from the opponent's 33 to 43-yard line where a field goal attempt would be between 50 to 60 yards and punting the ball would likely result in a touchback (the punt bounces into the opponent's end zone and they begin their drive on their own 20-yard line resulting in a net gain of 13-23 yards on the punt).

Depending on the quality of a football team's field goal kicker and their confidence in him a team's offensive dead zone may vary. A team's decision on 4th down in the dead zone is also dependent on game score and time remaining. Many teams that find themselves in the dead zone prefer trying to convert a short 4th down rather than risk a missed field goal or punting the ball for minimal gain. However, as field goal kickers in the NFL have become increasingly accurate (especially from longer distances), the dead zone on an NFL football field has been moved back. For instance, as recent as 2013 NFL kickers were successful on 67.13% of their field goal attempts 50 yards or longer (a 50-yard field goal attempt means the offence was at their opponent's 33-yard line when attempting the field goal).