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The Structure of the Game

The two teams will play a 60-minute game, broken into 15-minute quarters. After two quarters are complete, the teams will take a halftime break lasting approximately 20 minutes. Teams will change direction of play after every quarter, in order to correct any unfairness due to the wind blowing strongly in one direction of the field.

To start any play, 11 offensive players and 11 defensive players line up against each other. The play starts when the center, an offensive player, throws the ball backward between his legs to the quarterback, who snaps the ball. The line where the ball starts on each play, which is also the line separating the offense and defense, is called the line of scrimmage.

Football is structured into drives. The offensive team will start at the yard line where they return the kickoff, or the 25-yard line should the kickoff result in a touchback. The first down marker is placed 10 yards beyond where the drive starts, and the offense has four tries, known as downs, to reach that marker. If they fail to do so, the other team will take over possession of the ball from wherever their opponent’s drive ended.

If a team reaches the first down marker within their four tries, the marker is moved another 10 yards and the team gets a new four tries. If a team has used three of its downs and has not earned a first down, it will likely use its fourth down to punt, or kick the ball downfield to its opponent, rather than risk giving the other team the ball in an advantageous spot on the field.

Scoring

There are three main ways to score on offense in football.

First is a touchdown, which is a six-point score earned when an offensive team runs or completes a throw inside their opponent’s end zone. To score a touchdown, the ball must simply cross any part of the goal line while an offensive player possesses the ball with their feet in bounds. After a touchdown, teams may either kick a short kick into the yellow goalposts, known as an extra point, or attempt to cross the goal line from two yards away with only one attempt, known as a two-point conversion. As you may guess, the extra point earns one point, and the two-point conversion earns two. The two-point conversion is considered a risky play, so it is often only attempted when a team needs to mount a large comeback.

Second, a field goal, which is three points, is earned when an offense kicks the ball into the large yellow goalposts behind their opponent’s end zone (except after a touchdown). Field goals are often attempted on fourth down, when a team has advanced into its opponent’s side of the field but was unable to score a touchdown.

Third, a safety, which occurs when an offensive player is tackled or steps out of bounds in their own end zone. A penalty committed by an offensive player in their own end zone also results in a safety, although this is quite rare.

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Offensive Play

There are two primary types of plays on offense.

First, a running play, in which the offensive leader, known as the quarterback, gets the ball from the center, and hands it to a running back, who runs downfield hoping to travel the most yards without being tackled.

Second, a passing play is when the quarterback gets the ball and attempts to throw it downfield to a type of player known as a wide receiver. The ball must not hit the ground between leaving the quarterback’s hands and being caught by a receiver to count as a completed pass.

Football has many offensive strategic components, such as deciding when to run or pass, assigning receivers certain routes to run downfield in order to gain open space from their defenders, and assigning certain players to fake or confuse the defense.

The offensive line, a group of five large players who stand at the front of the offense, attempts to block defenders from reaching offensive players and tackling them. On pass plays, the offensive line protects the quarterback from being tackled before he throws the ball to a receiver, which is known as a sack.

On running plays, the offensive line protects a running back from being tackled for as long as they can, to ensure the running back gets downfield and earns the most yards possible for the offense.

Defensive Play

The defensive side of play also has numerous strategic elements. The four front players on defense, who line up opposite the offensive line, are known as the defensive line. The players behind them, who try to tackle running backs, sack quarterbacks, and guard wide receivers, are known as linebackers. The defenders who guard wide receivers are known as cornerbacks. The defenders who stand furthest from the offense and attempt to assist in all the other defensive roles while protecting against deep passing plays are known as safeties.

There are two main strategies that defenses use to try to stop receivers from catching passes. Zone coverage, where defenders are assigned a certain zone on the field and attempt to block any passes that enter that zone and man coverage, where each cornerback or safety is assigned a specific receiver or tight end to cover.

Penalties

Rules infractions, known as penalties, are signaled by a referee throwing a yellow flag during a play. After the play, the head referee will announce what penalty has been called and against which player. There are dozens of penalties, many of which are only called once every 20 years, so an article explaining every penalty would take up hundreds of pages. However, there are a few penalties that are called in nearly every game.

The two most common offensive penalties are holding and false start.

Holding is called when an offensive lineman tugs a defensive lineman’s jersey to prevent them from tackling a quarterback or running back. Holding is punished by the offense moving backward 10 yards from the spot where the hold is committed.

A false start happens at the start of the play when the offensive lineman moves forward before the play starts, which is illegal. False starts are punished by the offense moving backward five yards.

The most common defensive penalties are offside and pass interference.

Offside occurs when the defensive line crosses the line of scrimmage before the play starts. Defensive offside rewards the offense by moving them five yards up the field.

Defensive pass interference occurs when a defender interrupts with a receiver making a catch in an illegal way. This mostly occurs by pulling the receiver’s jersey or making a play that involves heavy or early contact on the receiver before the ball is near the receiver’s hands. Defensive pass interference can prevent big plays, so the offense moves up a full 15 yards if the defense commits this penalty.