An American football field is 100 yards long, with two endzones at each end, and two uprights at the end of the endzones.
To score a touchdown, you either have to catch the ball in or run with the ball into the endzone. This will award your team six points, and you then have the choice to either attempt an extra point, or a two-point conversion.
To score an extra point, the ball is placed on the 15-yard line, and you must kick it through the uprights at the back of the endzone. If you succeed you will get one point. If you choose to attempt a two-point conversion, the ball is placed on the two-yard line and you have to either run with it into or catch it in the endzone.
A field goal can technically be kicked from anywhere on the pitch, however the record for longest field goal is 66 yards (set by Ravens Justin Tucker in 2021). Like with an extra point, to score a field goal you must kick the ball through the uprights. Unlike an extra point, if you succeed you will be awarded three points.
At any given point, there are 11 players on the field from each team (22 overall). This is made up of offence, defence, and special teams.
The offence’s aim is to score by moving down the field. They will be given 4 attempts (known as ‘downs’) to move ten yards from the line of scrimmage. Once they have moved these ten yards, they are awarded a first down and they do the whole thing again.
They repeat this process until they either run out of downs, or score. If they get to fourth down and they still haven’t moved ten yards, they can kick a field goal if close enough.
If they are not close enough, they have to punt the ball to the other team. This is where they kick the ball as far downfield as they can and then the other team will catch it, and their offence takes the field where the ball was caught.
If a team goes for it on fourth down, and they don’t get the first down, the opposing team will take possession from that point on the field. This can make going for it on fourth down risky and is why a team will likely punt.
The defence’s goal is to stop the offence from getting a first down and scoring. Special teams include the punt team, kicking team, and the punt and kick returners.
Offensive Positions
- Quarterback: will either hand the ball off to a running back or throw to a skill position player. Sometimes they also need to run with the ball themselves, but typically they will only do this if it is absolutely necessary to avoid risking injury.
- Running back: will line up behind the line of scrimmage with the quarterback and will run with the ball. They are also used at times as blockers against the defence.
- Wide receiver: will run down field and catch the ball from the quarterback. They are typically very fast and agile.
- Tight end: similar to a wide receiver, but they tend to also block the defensive line instead of just running and catching.
- Offensive line: will block against the defensive line in an attempt to protect their quarterback and give him enough time to make a play.
Defensive Positions
- Defensive line: their goal ultimately is to get to the quarterback and tackle him – known as a sack if it is behind the line of scrimmage.
- Cornerback: they generally cover the wide receivers and attempt to intercept the ball so the wide receiver can’t catch it.
- Safety: similar to a cornerback, but they tend to also be used as blockers.
Special Teams Positions
- Kicker: will kick field goals, extra points, and the kick-off. They will always kick with the ball starting on the ground.
- Punter: will kick punts. This is different to a kicker because a punter will start by holding the ball and then dropping it and kicking it.
Image Credit: Jean Daniel (Pexels)
Student journalist and Sports Editor for Brig Newspaper
