This is an introduction to American national football league rules.

1. Introduction to American
Football Rules
Liangqun Lu
2022-06-02

2. Outline
● National Football League (NFL)
● Field and teams
● Rules and Scoring
● Interesting rules and penalties
● Take-home message

3. Super Bowl: final game of every NFL season
● 2nd Sunday in Feb.
● Huge viewers
(~100m) ad revenues
(6.5m for 30s ads)
● Tom Brady won 7
rings
● Cowboys won a
recent Super Bowl at
1995
Bengals vs Rams at 2022 Super Bowl

4. NFL game: ~3 hours and 12 minutes
● First quarter (15 mins)
● Second quarter (15 mins)
● Half-time (~12 mins)
● Third quarter (15 mins)
● Fourth quarter (15 mins)
● Overtime (up to 15
mins)
Regular season Playoff season Regional Champs Super Bowl

5. ● 32 teams at NFL
● Offense: team with the ball, 11 players on the field
● Defense: team without the ball, 11 players on the field

6. Offense team

8. Rule: 4 downs to make 10 yards
● If success, Offense team awarded another 4 downs to make 10 yards
● If not success, Defense team is given the ball at that point
Score board: remaining time for the
quarter; play clock;
TV broadcast: blue line indicates starting
line, red line indicates down line

9. 4th Down: Punting / Scoring vs Pass
● Is the final down of the down cycle, and it usually involves a punt or a scoring attempt.
The ball is given to the opposing team if failed to convert to 1st down

10. Scoring
● Touchdown: 6
points
● Field Goal: 3
points
● Try after
touchdown: 1
point (Field Goal)
or 2 points
(Touchdown)
● Safety: 2 points.

11. Interesting rules
● Interception: a
defensive player
catches the ball passed
to an offensive player
● Incomplete pass: a
pass hits the ground
● Fumble: a player loses
the ball
● Sack: the quarterback
is tackled before a
forward pass

12. Penalties and Injuries
● Clipping. 15 yards
● Chop Block. 15 yards
● Delay of Game. 5 yards
● Encroachment. 5 yards
● Facemask. 15 yards
● Failure to Report. 5 yards
● False Start. 5 yards

13. Game clips from KC Chiefs vs BUF Bills 2022
● In the last 1 min and 13
secs, 1 touchdown + 1
goal field for Chiefs
● 1 touchdown for Bills

14. NFL 2022-2023 Schedule
Regular season: September 8, 2022 – January 8, 2023

15. Take home message

16. References
● The Rules of American Football
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddwp1HyEFRE)
● SPORTS 101 // Guide to the NFL
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo1NmuzyYPY)
● https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/nfl-video-rulebook/