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Offensive offside is one of the rarer penalties in NFL football.
According to NFL penalty data compiled by NFLPenalties.com, there were 21 accepted offensive-offside penalties during the 2023 season, 11 in 2024, and 22 in 2025.
With 285 games played in each of those seasons, that works out to approximately:
| Season | Accepted Offensive Offside Penalties | NFL Games | Penalties per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 21 | 285 | 0.074 |
| 2024 | 11 | 285 | 0.039 |
| 2025 | 22 | 285 | 0.077 |
Put another way, the 2024 rate was roughly one accepted offensive-offside penalty for every 26 NFL games.
Looking across the longer 2009–2025 dataset, NFLPenalties records 96 accepted offensive-offside penalties across 3,829 games—about 0.025 per game.
So the short answer is clear:
Offensive offside does happen in the NFL, but it is an uncommon call.
What Is Offensive Offside?
The NFL defines offside in Rule 7, Section 4, Article 5.
A player is offside when any part of the player’s body is in or beyond the neutral zone when the ball is put in play.
The penalty is five yards.
The NFL’s official foul-code table also distinguishes Offensive Offside (OOF) from Defensive Offside (DOF), False Start (FST), Encroachment (ENC), Neutral Zone Infraction (NZI), and Illegal Formation (ILF).
That distinction matters because several pre-snap penalties can look similar while involving different violations.
Offensive Offside vs. False Start
Offensive offside and a false start are not the same foul.
Offside is fundamentally about where the player is positioned when the ball is put in play.
A false start involves certain prohibited movements by the offense before the snap.
For example, an offensive player could remain completely still but line up in the neutral zone. The problem in that situation is positioning rather than movement.
Conversely, a properly aligned offensive lineman can commit a false start by making a prohibited movement before the snap.
Both can cost the offense five yards, but the reason for the flag is different.
Why Is Offensive Offside So Uncommon?
The NFL data show that offensive offside is rare, but the statistics alone do not prove exactly why.
One practical explanation is that alignment can usually be corrected before the snap.
Unlike a false start, which can happen suddenly when a player reacts to the cadence or movement across the line, an alignment problem may exist for several seconds before the ball is snapped.
Wide receivers also commonly communicate with sideline officials about whether they are positioned on or off the line of scrimmage.
That does not transfer responsibility from the player to the official, but it can help prevent obvious alignment problems from surviving until the snap.
The important distinction is between what the data establish and what is an explanation of normal football mechanics:
The data establish that offensive offside is rare. The mechanics of pre-snap alignment help explain why it can often be corrected before the play begins.
A Real NFL Example: Kadarius Toney vs. Buffalo
One of the most famous recent examples occurred on December 10, 2023, during the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Buffalo Bills.
With Kansas City trailing 20–17 late in the fourth quarter, Patrick Mahomes completed a pass to Travis Kelce. Kelce then threw a backward pass to Kadarius Toney, who ran into the end zone for what appeared to be a spectacular go-ahead touchdown.
The play did not count.
Toney had lined up offside before the snap, and the penalty erased the touchdown.
Kansas City failed to score on the following plays and lost 20–17.
The call became controversial immediately, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently said the ruling was correct, and Mahomes later acknowledged that officials had made the correct call.
The play demonstrates why a rare five-yard pre-snap penalty can still have an enormous impact when it occurs at a high-leverage moment.
What Does Offensive Offside Look Like?
The neutral zone extends between the two lines of scrimmage before the snap.
If an offensive player positions part of the body in or beyond that neutral zone and remains there when the ball is put in play, the player can be called offside.
For viewers, wide receivers and tight ends can be easier to notice because they are separated from the interior offensive line.
The Toney play is a useful visual example: his alignment relative to the football was the issue before the play ever began.
Offensive Offside vs. Illegal Formation
Offensive offside should also be distinguished from illegal formation.
NFL formation rules govern matters such as how many offensive players must be on the line and which players occupy eligible positions.
Offside instead concerns a player’s relationship to the neutral zone when the ball is put in play.
That means an offense can have an alignment problem without the foul necessarily being offensive offside.
The NFL maintains separate foul codes for Offensive Offside and Illegal Formation for this reason.
Has Offensive Offside Become More Common?
Recent data fluctuate enough that it would be misleading to claim a clear long-term increase based on only a few seasons.
NFLPenalties records:
- 21 accepted penalties in 2023
- 11 in 2024
- 22 in 2025
That is a large percentage swing from year to year, but the underlying numbers are extremely small.
When an event occurs only a few dozen times across an entire league season, relatively small changes in raw counts can produce dramatic-looking percentage changes.
The safer conclusion is therefore:
Offensive offside remains rare, while the exact number varies from season to season.
More seasons of consistently classified data would be needed before claiming a meaningful upward or downward trend.
How Much Can the Penalty Matter?
By rule, offensive offside costs five yards.
Its actual impact depends heavily on the game situation.
Five yards on first-and-10 early in a drive is very different from a penalty that erases a potential go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
That distinction is why penalty count and penalty impact should not be treated as the same statistic.
Offensive offside is uncommon in frequency but can still be highly consequential in an individual game.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is offensive offside called in the NFL?
It is rare.
NFLPenalties recorded 21 accepted offensive-offside penalties in 2023, 11 in 2024, and 22 in 2025.
What is the penalty for offensive offside?
Under the NFL rulebook, offside results in a five-yard penalty.
Is offensive offside the same as false start?
No.
Offside concerns a player’s position relative to the neutral zone when the ball is put in play. False start concerns prohibited offensive movement before the snap.
Is offensive offside the same as illegal formation?
No.
The NFL lists Offensive Offside and Illegal Formation as separate foul categories. Formation rules address the legal arrangement of offensive players, while offside concerns whether a player is in or beyond the neutral zone when the ball is put in play.
Can offensive offside erase a touchdown?
Yes.
The December 2023 Chiefs-Bills game provides a prominent example. Kadarius Toney’s offensive-offside penalty nullified a late Kansas City touchdown in a game Buffalo ultimately won 20–17.
Bottom Line
Offensive offside is a real NFL penalty, but the available data show that it is uncommon.
There were only 11 accepted offensive-offside penalties across 285 NFL games in 2024 and 22 across 285 games in 2025.
The NFL rule itself is straightforward: a player is offside when any part of the body is in or beyond the neutral zone when the ball is put in play, and the penalty is five yards.
What makes the foul interesting is not how frequently it occurs, but how costly it can become when it happens at the wrong moment.
The Kadarius Toney penalty against Buffalo in 2023 is the clearest recent example: one rare alignment mistake erased what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown.
For the broader context of pre-snap fouls, alignment rules, pass interference, player-safety penalties, and other violations, see our American Football Rules & Penalties overview.