- American football in a nutshell
- The field, the goalposts and the ball
- Players, numbers and the coin toss
- Downs, the line to gain and the forward pass
- Points: touchdowns, field goals, safeties and the try
- Kickoffs, touchbacks and the 2026 changes
- NFL overtime, regular season and playoffs
- My verdict for new fans
- Frequently asked questions
Under the NFL's 2026 Official Playing Rules, American football is played by two teams of 11 players on a field 360 feet long and 160 feet wide, and the team with more points at the end wins. A touchdown is worth 6 points, a field goal 3 and a safety 2, and the team with the ball gets four downs to move it 10 yards.
This page follows the 2026 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League, as of November 2026. College and high school football have their own rule books, so treat everything below as NFL rules. I've written it for someone watching their first game or trying to follow along at a friend's house, not for someone about to referee one.
American football in a nutshell
One team has the ball and is called the offence. The other team, the defence, tries to stop it. The offence gets a series of four tries, called downs, to move the ball 10 yards. Make it and you get four more. Fail and the ball goes to the other side. Keep moving it until you carry or catch it in the opponent's end zone, and that's a touchdown.
That loop of downs, yards and possession is the whole game. Everything else, from field goals to overtime, hangs off it.
The field, the goalposts and the ball
The field is a rectangle 360 feet in length and 160 feet in width. The goal lines sit 10 yards in from each end line, and the areas behind the goal lines are the end zones. Yard lines are marked every 5 yards so everyone can see how far the ball has moved.
The goal has a crossbar whose top face is 10 feet above the ground, with the posts rising above it. The ball is leather, shaped as a prolate spheroid, and weighs 14 to 15 ounces.
Players, numbers and the coin toss
Each team has 11 players on the field. Having more than 11 in the formation before the snap or a free kick is a foul, and it costs five yards. That applies to the defence as much as the offence, so a confused substitution can hurt either side.
A game lasts 60 minutes, split into four periods of 15 minutes each, with a 13 minute intermission at halftime. Teams change ends at the end of the first and third periods.
Before kickoff the referee tosses a coin at the centre of the field. The winner picks one option: either to receive or kick, or which goal to defend. The loser gets whichever option is left.
Downs, the line to gain and the forward pass
A down is a period of action. It starts when the ball is put in play and ends when the ball is declared dead. Here's how a series works, step by step:
- The ball is snapped from the line of scrimmage, and that spot starts the series.
- The line to gain is the spot 10 yards ahead of that snap. If the goal line is closer than 10 yards, the goal line becomes the line to gain.
- The offence has four consecutive downs to reach it.
- Reach the line to gain and the offence earns a new first down, with a fresh set of four.
- Fall short after four downs and possession changes to the other team.
The offence may make one forward pass per down, and it has to be thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. A second forward pass from behind the line costs the loss of the down and five yards.
How does a play end? A runner is down, and the ball is dead, when an opponent contacts him and he's touching the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet. A runner who slides or dives is down as soon as he touches the ground with anything other than his hands or feet.
Points: touchdowns, field goals, safeties and the try
| How you score | Points | What has to happen |
|---|---|---|
| Touchdown | 6 | A runner has the ball on, above or behind the plane of the opponent's goal line, or a player in bounds secures a loose ball there |
| Field goal | 3 | A drop kick or place kick goes through the plane of the opponent's goal, between the posts and above the crossbar |
| Safety | 2 | The ball is dead in a team's possession on or behind its own goal line, and that team's own impetus put it there |
| Try by kick | 1 | After a touchdown, a kick from 15 yards out |
| Try by run or pass | 2 | After a touchdown, a touchdown play from the two-yard line |
The try trips up new viewers. After a touchdown the extra point isn't automatic. The scoring team gets one scrimmage down and chooses either a kick for 1 point or a run or pass for 2, and the two options start from different spots.
The safety is the other one people forget. If your own team ends up with the ball dead on or behind your own goal line, and your team's own impetus put it there, the opponents score 2 points. Being pinned deep in your own territory has a real cost.
Kickoffs, touchbacks and the 2026 changes
A kickoff starts each half, follows a try, and follows a successful field goal. The kicker kicks from the kicking team's 35-yard line, and the other 10 kicking players line up at the receiving team's 40-yard line.
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A kickoff that goes into the end zone and stays in bounds is a live ball. It has to be returned or downed, so a touchback isn't guaranteed just because the ball reached the end zone. When a touchback does happen, the ball goes to the 20-yard line in some cases and the 35-yard line in others, depending on how the ball landed.
The 2026 rule book prints three changes at the front, and they're all about the kickoff:
- Kickoff alignment in the setup zone, rule 6-1-3.
- The dead ball spot after a touchback when a kickoff is from the 50-yard line, rule 6-1-5.
- The kicking team being allowed to declare an onside kick at any time, rule 6-1-6.
NFL overtime, regular season and playoffs
This is the rule that catches the most people out. In the NFL, overtime isn't first to score. In a regular-season game that's tied after regulation, there's an extra period of 10 minutes, and both teams get the chance to possess the ball at least once. The only exception is when the kicking team scores a safety on the receiving team's first possession.
After both teams have had the ball, the next score wins. If nobody breaks the tie in those 10 minutes, the game can end as a tie, which comes as a shock if you've grown up with sports that always find a winner.
The postseason is different. Overtime periods there are 15 minutes, and they keep going as many times as needed until there's a winner.
My verdict for new fans
I'd start with downs and the line to gain, because once you can see the offence chasing that 10-yard target, the stop-start rhythm suddenly makes sense. Add the scoring table and the try choice, and you can follow most games without asking anyone what just happened.
I'd skip the penalty list, replay review and the detail of the new kickoff setup until you're watching every week. They matter to coaches and referees, not to someone learning the game. If watching has you itching to play something, my ultimate frisbee rules borrow the end zone idea without the tackling, and kickball is an easy pick for a work team day. And if you're already hooked, here's my pick of the fantasy football apps.
Frequently asked questions
How many players are on the field in American football?
Each team has 11 players on the field. More than 11 in the formation before the snap or free kick is a foul and costs five yards.
How long is an American football game?
60 minutes, divided into four periods of 15 minutes each, with a halftime intermission of 13 minutes.
How many points is a touchdown worth?
6 points. A field goal is 3 points and a safety is 2 points. After a touchdown the team can try for 1 point by kicking or 2 points by running or passing.
What are the four downs in football?
A team gets four consecutive downs to advance the ball 10 yards to the line to gain. If it gets there, it earns a new first down; if not, possession changes.
How does NFL overtime work?
In the regular season, there's an extra 10-minute period and both teams get the ball once unless the kicking team scores a safety on the receiving team's first possession. After that, the next score wins, or the game ends tied.
