What's the story behind the rule? What's the point?

And why can a punt be muffed but not a kickoff?

A kickoff can be muffed. If a player receives the kickoff at the 2yd line, touches it and it hits the ground, it's a live ball just like a punt. We just don't hear that terminology used on a kickoff.
Unless the rules have changed, which is possible. The NFL is always changing rules.

You'll hear announcers call it a muffed return even on a kickoff, it's just way more rare because muffing a kickoff is more rare. The other thing is that muffing a punt changes the punts status from a kicked ball to a live ball for the kicking team, whereas a kickoff is a live ball for the kicking team once the ball travels 10 yards or the receiving team touches it, hence more emphasis.

You could call an onside kick that travels less than 10 yards and touched by the receiving team a muffed return, but muffing implies clumsiness rather than just chaos occurring.


For clarity: a punt is considered the receiving team's ball until it's touched by the receiving team and once it's touched it becomes a live ball, because a muffed punt was never possessed by the receiving team it can't be considered a fumble, because a fumble requires a player to actually possess the ball.

My question has always been why a muff cant be advanced just as a fumble is. Doesnt really make any sense.

SilverTongueDevil said:

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My question has always been why a muff cant be advanced just as a fumble is. Doesnt really make any sense.

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By very definition, a muff means the receiving team never really had possession of the ball.

ATM9000 said:

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SilverTongueDevil said:

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My question has always been why a muff cant be advanced just as a fumble is. Doesnt really make any sense.

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By very definition, a muff means the receiving team never really had possession of the ball.

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And a kicked ball of any kind cannot be advanced by the team that kicked the ball. The only instance where a kicked ball can be advanced is in the case of a blocked kick (punt or field goal) where the ball does not cross the line of scrimmage.

hph6203 said:

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ATM9000 said:

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SilverTongueDevil said:

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My question has always been why a muff cant be advanced just as a fumble is. Doesnt really make any sense.

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By very definition, a muff means the receiving team never really had possession of the ball.

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And a kicked ball of any kind cannot be advanced by the team that kicked the ball. The only instance where a kicked ball can be advanced is in the case of a blocked kick (punt or field goal) where the ball does not cross the line of scrimmage.

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Field goals that go past the line of scrimmage but are short of the goal post can be returned. For Example, the Kick6 in the Iron Bowl a few years ago

We know. We are referring to being advanced not recovered

Aggie12B said:

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hph6203 said:

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ATM9000 said:

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SilverTongueDevil said:

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My question has always been why a muff cant be advanced just as a fumble is. Doesnt really make any sense.

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By very definition, a muff means the receiving team never really had possession of the ball.

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And a kicked ball of any kind cannot be advanced by the team that kicked the ball. The only instance where a kicked ball can be advanced is in the case of a blocked kick (punt or field goal) where the ball does not cross the line of scrimmage.

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Field goals that go past the line of scrimmage but are short of the goal post can be returned. For Example, the Kick6 in the Iron Bowl a few years ago

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Right... but not by the kicking team.