A football is not round. It is covered in tan leather, and it weighs 14 to 15 ounces. A team scores a touchdown by getting the ball across the other team's goal line. A touchdown is worth six points, and after a touchdown, a team can try to score one or two more points.
A field goal is worth three points, and a safety is worth two points. The team with the ball gets four downs, or tries, to move the ball 10 yards. Officials use a 10-yard chain on two rods to see whether a team has earned a first down. As of November 2026, a 40-second play clock starts when a play ends, and the team that does not snap the ball in time gets a five-yard penalty.
The neutral zone is the space between the two teams' lines before the snap, and neither team may enter it until the ball is snapped. A player is offside when part of his body is in the neutral zone before the ball is put in play. A player who touches a sideline is out of bounds. A fumble happens when a player with the ball loses it, and either team can recover it. A punt is a kick in which the kicker drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.
A football game lasts 60 minutes, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each. At halftime, between the second and third quarters, play stops and the teams leave the field. Each team gets three timeouts in each half. A kickoff starts each half and follows each touchdown try or successful field goal. As of November 2026, the kicking team kicks from its own 35-yard line on a kickoff.
Each football team has 11 players on the field at one time. They wear helmets that have a face mask, and they must wear shoulder pads, knee pads and thigh pads. Every football player wears a number on the front and back of his jersey. In the NFL a player's jersey number shows what position he plays.
Where did all of this come from? Let us look back at the start of the game. American football grew out of rugby and soccer, two older sports. The first college football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869. Walter Camp, who played at Yale, became known as the father of American football.
Words to know
- touchdown: six points
- offside: too far forward
- punt: drop-and-kick
- fumble: lose the ball
- kickoff: starts each half
