How to Use fair catch in a Sentence

fair catch

noun
  • Chark fair caught punts on the nine-, six- and seven-yard lines.
    Andy Staples, SI.com, 7 Jan. 2018
  • One was the product of a botched fair catch signal.
    Noah White, Miami Herald, 23 Nov. 2025
  • But his next punt was a boomer, 52 yards in the air leading to a fair catch.
    Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, 8 Sep. 2019
  • One punt went out of bounds and Davis had a fair catch on another.
    Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 24 Oct. 2019
  • In the first quarter, he was flagged for an invalid fair catch signal.
    Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Dec. 2025
  • Allen's first punt traveled 37 yards and was fair caught at the 10-yard line.
    Geoffrey C. Arnold, OregonLive.com, 2 Feb. 2018
  • Devin McCourty could have called for a fair catch on that play.
    BostonGlobe.com, 19 Sep. 2021
  • Eighteen of his punts were fair caught, while eight were downed inside the 20-yard line.
    Tom Green | [email protected], AL.com, 4 Jan. 2018
  • Michael Turk kicked 45 yards to a fair catch at the Utes' 8-yard line.
    Jeff Metcalfe, azcentral, 19 Oct. 2019
  • Mario Williams signaled for a fair catch, but fumbled the ball out of bounds at the 1.
    Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 2 Jan. 2023
  • The Raiders signaled for a fair catch, but didn’t recover the ball.
    Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 23 Nov. 2024
  • The highlight was a 52-yard boomer that resulted in a fair catch.
    Eric Branch, SFChronicle.com, 22 Sep. 2019
  • Nixon was ready to fair catch a Houston punt, but backed away at the final second.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
  • Winston signaled for a fair catch when Oweh was still over 10 yards away.
    Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 16 Aug. 2021
  • Hardman hurt the Chiefs again by failing to call a fair catch on a punt downed at their 3.
    BostonGlobe.com, 4 Nov. 2019
  • Nyheim Hines calls for a fair catch late, isn't in position and muffs the punt.
    Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Oct. 2021
  • No fair catches will be allowed, and touchbacks will be marked at the 30.
    Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Under the new proposal, teams could fair catch those kicks and still get the ball at the 25.
    Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2023
  • That ball was in the air so long that McMorris could have signaled for a fair catch.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2021
  • Dante Pettis had two punt returns for 1 yard and a fair catch at the 10-yard line.
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2022
  • The rookie downed punts at the 1-yard line, 2-yard line, and forced a fair catch at the 15-yard line.
    oregonlive, 25 Nov. 2019
  • Jackson had called for a fair catch on the play, but juggled the ball and grabbed it out of the air just as Drosos hit him.
    Creg Stephenson | [email protected], al, 4 Sep. 2023
  • The first downs have all dried up, as has Marcus Jones’s ability to call for a fair catch.
    Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023
  • The Vols have forced 11 fair catches and downed six kicks inside the 20-yard line.
    Evan Dudley, al, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Moore’s typical job is to field the ball with his receiving skills after calling a fair catch.
    Charlotte Observer, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Of the 21 punts that were not touchbacks, USC has called for a fair catch five times.
    Zach Helfand, latimes.com, 2 Oct. 2017
  • The Hawkeyes had to punt one more time, downing the ball on a fair catch at the IU 34.
    Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Duvernay signaled for a fair catch at the 4-yard line and let another punt bounce to the 2.
    Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 6 Oct. 2021
  • One of the punts resulted in a fair catch at the Philadelphia 6-yard line.
    Mark Inabinett | [email protected], al, 11 Aug. 2019
  • Once the ball is received — a fair catch is allowed but unlikely if the ball is kicked past the 25 — the clock unfreezes.
    Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fair catch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: