Overview
American football. Two teams of eleven contest a 100-yard field, advancing the ball in a series of downs to reach the opponent's end zone.
Checked against the 2026 Official Playing Rules of the NFL. College and high school football have their own rulebooks, which differ in many details and haven't been checked here.
1. The field and clock
100 yards between goal lines, with a 10-yard end zone at each end and goalposts at the back of each. The field is 53⅓ yards wide.
Four quarters of 15 minutes.
The clock stops for incomplete passes, players going out of bounds, penalties, scores, timeouts and the two-minute warning — which is why an hour of game time takes over three hours.
The play clock gives the offence 40 seconds between plays, or 25 after certain stoppages.
Each team gets three timeouts per half, which do not carry over.
2. Downs
The offence gets four downs to advance the ball ten yards. Succeed and it resets to first down.
Fail, and possession passes to the other team where the ball lies — which is why teams almost always punt on fourth down to push the opposition back, or attempt a field goal if close enough.
3. Scoring
| Play | Points |
|---|---|
| Touchdown | 6 |
| Try after a touchdown: kick, snapped from the 15-yard line | 1 |
| Try after a touchdown: run or pass, snapped from the 2-yard line | 2 |
| Field goal | 3 |
| Safety | 2 |
A touchdown requires the ball to break the plane of the goal line while in possession. The player does not need to be down.
A safety is scored against a team whose own play sends the ball behind its goal line, where it's then dead in its possession or goes out of bounds. It's also a safety if the offence fouls in its own end zone and the defence takes the penalty there. The team that gave up the safety then free-kicks to the scorers.
4. Positions
The quarterback takes the snap and hands off, passes or runs. The offensive line — five players — protects him and may not go downfield on a pass play.
Receivers and running backs carry or catch. The defence mirrors this with a line, linebackers and defensive backs.
Seven players must be on the line of scrimmage at the snap. Only one may be in motion, and he must be moving parallel to or away from the line.
5. Passing
A forward pass may only be thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, and only one per down. Backward passes — laterals — are unlimited and may be thrown from anywhere.
What counts as a catch
The most litigated rule in the sport. A receiver must:
- Secure control of the ball with the hands or arms before it touches the ground,
- touch the ground in bounds with both feet or any other body part except the hands, and
- then clearly perform an act common to the game, such as reaching the ball forward, taking another step, tucking it away and turning upfield, or warding off an opponent, or keep control long enough to do so.
If he goes to the ground before step 3 and loses the ball when he hits the ground, it isn't a catch.
6. Common penalties
| Foul | Yards |
|---|---|
| False start | 5 |
| Offside / encroachment | 5 |
| Delay of game | 5 |
| Illegal formation | 5 |
| Holding (offence) | 10 |
| Holding (defence) | 5 and automatic first down |
| Pass interference (defence) | Spot of the foul, first down |
| Roughing the passer | 15 and automatic first down |
| Unnecessary roughness | 15 |
| Intentional grounding | Loss of down and 10 yards, or at the spot of the pass if further back |
The non-offending team may decline a penalty if the result of the play was better for them.
7. Overtime
Regular season: one 10-minute period. Both teams get a chance to have the ball, unless the team kicking off scores a safety on the first possession. After that, the next score wins. Still level after ten minutes: a tie. Each team gets two timeouts (16-1-3).
Postseason: 15-minute periods, with the same possession rule, repeated until someone wins (16-1-4).
Commonly argued
- A catch needs control, two feet down, and time to make a football move.
- Both teams get the ball in overtime, regular season included.
- Only one forward pass per down, from behind the line of scrimmage. Laterals are unlimited.
- The ball only needs to break the plane of the goal line for a touchdown.
- A safety gives the defence two points and the ball.
- Penalties can be declined, and often should be.
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