American football is a team sport, where the object is to advance the ball into your opponent’s end zone by running, throwing, or passing. Players can also score points by kicking the ball through the opposing team’s goalposts. There are two teams of 11 players on each side, and play is divided into quarters by a break at halftime. The winning team is the one that scores the most points.
The game is played on a field that is 100 yards long and 53 yards wide, with a set of 10-yard end zones at each end. A game can last for up to four quarters, separated by breaks of 15 minutes or more. The winning team is declared by a referee who has the authority to declare whether a player has made a legal touch down (or touchdown) or not.
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At the beginning of each play, the team with possession of the ball chooses which player will be the quarterback. The quarterback throws or hand-offs the ball to a running back, fullback or wide receiver, or they may run it themselves. The offensive line protects the quarterback by blocking players from the opposing team.
If a team fails to gain 10 yards during its four downs, it must turn the ball over to the other team. However, if the team successfully moves the ball 10 or more yards during those four downs, it gets another four downs to do so. This continues until the offense either scores or the defense takes the ball away.
The most common way to score in American football is to carry the ball across the opposition’s end zone, which is known as a touchdown. A touchdown is worth 6 points, and is scored when a player crosses the plane of the opposing team’s goal line with the ball in their possession.
There are also points awarded for successful field goals and interceptions of passes. A field goal is worth 3 points and is scored when the ball is kicked through the opponents’ goalposts from anywhere on the field. An intercepted pass is worth 2 points.
The National Football League (NFL) is the main professional American football league. There are 32 teams in the NFL, which compete against each other for the right to participate in the Super Bowl each year. The league also runs its own college football championship tournament, known as the College Football Playoffs. There are also a number of other amateur and semi-professional football organizations that compete at local and state levels.