A football player can declare himself down by lying on the ground, kneeling, or sliding.
As soon as any part of the ball carrier’s body makes contact with the ground other than his hands or feet, the ball is declared dead.
In the case of a sliding ball carrier, the ball will be marked down at the location where it was when the slide was initiated. This is regardless of how much distance the ball gained during the slide.
How to slide in Football?
Defendants should treat sliding offensive players as if they were hit by contact.
When a ball carrier is sliding, defenders must do their best to avoid contact with him. In some cases, the sliding player and the defender cannot avoid contact.
Although defenders will not be penalized for all contact made against sliding ball carriers, they will be penalized if they make forcible contact with their helmets, shoulders, or forearms.
It will result in a fifteen-yard loss and an automatic first down due to an unnecessary roughness penalty.
When ball carriers wait until the last minute to start a slide, they may put themselves in unavoidable contact with an opponent. This will often not result in a penalty.
The NFL rulebook Rule 7, Section 2, D provides all information regarding sliding rules.
What causes Quarterbacks to Slide?
Now that you know how football slides, you might wonder why pro quarterbacks do it.
In football, sliding is done for two reasons: player safety and keeping the clock moving.
Player Safety
When a quarterback advances the football on the ground, he will almost always avoid contact as much as possible.
Typically, quarterbacks will slide out of bounds or run out of bounds when they have the ball in their hands most of the time.
If a quarterback slides to the ground, he has an opportunity to pick up some yards without taking a hit. However, he is going to lose a few yards by doing this.
The coaching staff accepts a yard or two loss since it keeps the quarterback healthy.
Keeping the Clock Running
A few minutes before the end of each half, incomplete passes and runs out of bounds will stop the clock from running.
If a team has a lead, they look for ways to run down the clock.
A player can slide inbounds and keep the clock running by doing so.
In situations where a quarterback is carrying the ball near the sideline, he may decide to slide down rather than go out of bounds. This will allow the team to burn an additional forty or so seconds.
We have articles on the illegal forward pass or ineligible receiver that explain the quarterback slide rule in football.
Here is all you need to know about quarterback slides in football. Find out about the QB dive or the quarterback keeper to learn some other plays often performed by quarterbacks.