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NFL Football Rules and Terms You Should Know About

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NFL Football Rules and Terms You Should Know About

What makes American football so spectacular and fun is that it involves epic clashes and a complex play style in which 22 players give their all on the field. 

With The National Football League (NFL) season starting from September 8 this year, people are extremely hyped. Out of many rules involved in the sport, the basic NFL football rule is moving the ball downfield, towards, and into the opposing team’s end zone. 

The objective of the NFL is to score points over opponents in the allocated time. To do this, players move the ball down the pitch in phases before eventually getting the ball into the ‘end zone.

With the NFL preseason already in motion, you should take your time to know the NFL terms and rules. Once you know all these basic rules, you will find it easier to follow the game. Let's check out some of those basic rules.

Basic NFL Football Rules and Terms

To a newbie, the NFL can appear extremely complex. However, the basics of the game are easy to understand and follow. Here are NFL football rules, including the play and the scoring procedures.

Game 

  •  The game starts with 11 players on each side, defense and offense, intending to play for four quarters of 15 minutes. 
  • The game consists of three ‘time-outs’ for each team, with a 12-minute half-time interval. 
  •  As mentioned, the game's objective is to move the ball into the opponent’s ‘end zone,’ either by running with the ball or by passing the ball to a teammate downfield towards the end zone. 
  •  The key player on each side is a quarterback. A quarterback is a player positioned in the offensive zone, behind the center, who calls signals and attempts to dictate play. 
  •  The possession of the ball (offense) must move the ball forward by 10 yards while they are on offense. Therefore, the pitch has marked yardage lines on it. 
  •  Players have four chances to gain those 10 yards, and if they advance the ball beyond that, the count resets, and the team earns another set of four downs so that they can try again to move further 10 yards. 
  •  If the offensive team fails to move to 10 yards within four downs, possession is given up, and the defensive side gets their turn to play offense. 
  • The defensive team kicks for a field goal or downfield to the defending team on the fourth down to try and salvage some points before they lose possession.


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