Basic Rules of American Football

The objective of the game is to outscore your opponent by scoring as many points as possible while holding them to as few points as possible.  There are many ways of scoring with touchdown is usually the main objective. Touchdown can be done by advancing the football into the opponents endzone.

Each game features two teams playing against each other., with each team protecting one end of the field from their opponents. The area is called the "endzone" and is where a team will attempts to get the ball when it is in their possession. There are 11 players from each team on the field at one time and each team is comprised of an offense, defense, and special teams. Unlimited substitution is permitted, but players may only enter the field when the ball is dead.

The game time is 60 minutes and is separated into 2 halves of 30 minutes each. Each half is broken into 2 quarters of 15 minutes each. The intermission between the periods is two minutes. Halftime is 12 minutes, unless otherwise specified. Each team is allowed 3 timeouts per half which allows them to stop the clock from moving and to give their player's a rest.

Before each game, coin toss will be done to determine which team kicks off first. A special kicker (a "placekicker") will kicks the ball to the offense. On the other hand the receiving team must catch the ball and try to advance it by running. The play stop when the player with the ball is tackled (knocked to the ground), or makes it all the way to the kicking team's endzone (touchdown). The spot where the kick returner was tackled becomes the line of scrimmage. The line of scrimmage is the point from which the offense will begin its drive, or series of offensive plays. Once this starting point is established, the offensive squad of the receiving team will come in and try to move the ball toward the opposition's end zone.

All progress in a football game is measured in yards. The offensive team tries to get as much "yardage" as it can to try and move closer to the opponent's end zone. They are given 4 attempts (commonly called "downs") to attempt to move the ball 10 yards at a time. If the offensive team successfully moves the ball 10 or more yards, it earns a first down, and another set of four downs. If the defense is able to stop them from moving 10 yards after 4 attempts, then their team will now get a chance on offense.