Editing XFL (2001) (section)

===Punting rules===
The XFL imposed a number of restrictions on [[punt (gridiron football)|punting]] that are not present in most other leagues' rules, the net effect of which made punts in the XFL operate under rules more akin to [[kickoff (gridiron football)|kickoffs]]. The purpose of these provisions was to keep play going after the ball was punted, encouraging the kicking team to make the ball playable and the receiving team to run it back. To this effect:
* Punting out of bounds was a ten-yard [[penalty (gridiron football)|penalty]], effectively outlawing the [[coffin corner punt]] commonplace at most other levels of the game.
* Any punt that traveled at least 25 yards past the line of scrimmage could be recovered by the kicking team, thus legalizing to an extent the [[Bomb (kick)|up-and-under or garryowen]] common to [[rugby football]] codes. Thus, instead of letting the kicking team down the ball as is common in other leagues, the receiving team was required to try and return the punt or else lose possession.
* The kicking team was prohibited from coming within five yards of the [[punt returner]] before he gained possession of the ball. This rule, known as the halo rule in college football and also common in the CFL, was dubbed the "danger zone" in the XFL. Coming within 5{{nbsp}}yards or less of this "danger zone" entailed a {{nobreak|5-yard}} penalty, much in the same vein as the CFL's "no yards" penalty.
* [[Fair catch]]es were not recognized. (The "no fair catch" rule was one of the most heavily hyped rule differences in the XFL and a central part of the league's marketing campaign, and like the above "no yards" penalty, fair catches were not recognized in Canadian football.)

For the initial weeks of the season, the XFL forbade all players on the kicking team from going downfield before a kick was made from scrimmage on that down, similarly to a rule the NFL considered in 1974. For the rest of the season the XFL modified it to allow one player closest to each sideline downfield ahead of the kick, the same modification the NFL adopted to their change just before their 1974 exhibition games started.

Allowing the kicking team to recover a punt did encourage noticeably more [[quick kick]]s over the course of the XFL's lone season than was typically seen in the NFL over the preceding decades, including a quick kick during the [[Million Dollar Game]] (that particular kick, executed by San Francisco on a third-and-31 play, succeeded in taking Los Angeles off-guard, but the kick also backfired as the Demons could not recover the kick and Los Angeles returned it for a touchdown).<ref name=worst>{{cite AV media |author=Bulkema, Will |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pRFTLDtgeQ | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/9pRFTLDtgeQ| archive-date=November 17, 2021 | url-status=live|title=The only XFL championship was also the worst |publisher=[[SB Nation]] |date=February 7, 2019 |medium=video |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>