How To Play American Football

American football has become the most popular sport. Currently, American football has become very familiar with a diverse country ‍, and American football, which traces its root to rugby football, has risen in more than a century. Still, this game become one of the most popular sports in the world.

The National Football League (NFL) has been the center of focus of American football in the world. Millions of tunes fight to see the very best teams fight for the ultimate glory of being the Superbowl Champion. American football is governed by a set of rules which ensure healthy competition and fair play.

We consider in precise and crisp detail, American football rules as well as how to play American football.

How To Play American Football

The Object of the Game

The purpose of American football is to make more points than your opposition. To do this, they must step down from the pitch of the game periodically before getting the ball into the ‘end zone’ for a touchdown.

This can be achieved by either throwing the ball to a teammate or running with the ball.

Each team gets four chances (downs) to move the ball 10 yards forward. Once they pass the 10 yards, their downs reset, and they start again for another 10 yards. After four downs have given and they have failed to make it over the 10 yards required, the ball will be turned over to the defensive team.

Player & Equipment

The American football team has 45 players, but 11 players are eligible to play. The rest of the players are involved in various tasks.

An American football field is usually about 100 yards long and 160 yards wide. Lines are drawn on the ground at 10-yard intervals to indicate how far each team has to go before reaching the end zone.

End zones are usually added at each end of the pitch and are about 20 yards in length. Posters are found at each end with the ball kicking at its edges.

These players are equipped with various gears that serve as a means of protection in the physically intensive sport. Players are equipped with shoes, helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, mouth-pads, thigh, and knee pads. Elbow pads, neck rolls, rib pads, hip pads, tailbone pads, are also worn. The team equipment manager provides the gears for each player. The ball dubbed the ‘duke’ is spheroid.

Scoring

American footballers earn points in various ways. If a player scores a touchdown, their team is given six points. A goal can be scored by either carrying the ball in the end zone or by taking the ball from a pass in the end zone.

If a touchdown is successful, But the attacking team has the opportunity to kick the ball for an extra point. For a successful kick, the ball has to pass through steep posts. Any field goal can be scored from the pitch at any time (usually the final down), And a successful kick resulted in three points.

Safety, which carries two points, occurs when a defending team successfully tackles an offensive player in the defensive team end zone; security is often awarded if an offensive player commits a foul in an opposing team end zone.

Winning the Game

To win, the American football team must get points. Just like all games, to succeed in this game, you have to earn more points from the other side. Those who earn more points are counted as winners.

If the points are tied then over time will come into play where the teams will play an additional quarter until a winner is found. The team that scores the most points at the end of the game is a winner.

Rules of American Football

• An American football game is divided into four quarters which spans 15 minutes each, between the 1st and 2nd quarters and the 3rd and 4th quarters there is a 2 minutes break, at the conclusion of the 1st and 2nd quarters, there is a 15-minute break before play resumes.
• Each team has 4 downs to gain 10 or more yards. They can either throw or run the ball to make the yards. As soon as the team gains the required yards then the downs reset and the yardage resets. Failure to make the yardage after 4 downs will result in a turnover.
• There are different means by which a team can make downs. Players run in various routes in the field in an organized but disruptive manner. The quarterback or head coach organizes the on-field players while the defensive captain organizes the defensive players.
• The game begins with kickoff where a team player kicks the ball down the field for the other player to catch and run in the opposite direction.
• At the start of every game is the coin toss to decide which team receives the ball first and which side of the pitch they want to start from.
• On fourth down the offense has the option to either try to make up the yards they are short or to kick the ball. If they decide to kick they have two options; to punt or to try for a field goal. Depending on their position on the pitch will usually dictate their paly. Anything within 40 yards or so of the opposition’s goalposts will result in a field goal attempt. The further back will likely mean they take the punt option.