Whether A Certain Pop Star Peaked Your Interest In Football Or Not, I'm Here To Help Explain The Game To Make It Actually Watchable

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1. What am I looking at on-screen?

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This is a view of a football field from up top/a bird's eye view. It has marks labeled every 10 yards up to 50 (midfield) and goes down once midfield is crossed. The field is 100 yards long, with the end zone (labeled "touchdown" above) accounting for another 10 yards each. The field has a total of 120 yards.

2. How many people are on the field for each team?

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11 players are on the field for each team at a time. This includes 11 players on offense and 11 players on defense.

3. Offense vs defense...what do they do?

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Offense has a goal of marching down the field and getting to the opponent's end zone, which will result in a touchdown.

The ball can be moved by passing the ball to your teammates or running the ball toward the end zone. The offense has four chances (we call them "downs") to get 10 yards. For example, you start with your first chance to get 10 yards which is shown on screen as 1st and 10. If you run two yards then it becomes 2nd and 8 (you are now on your second chance to pick up eight more yards). If you pass the ball two more yards, then it becomes a third down with six more yards to go — 3rd and 6. If you gain six yards, then you get a new set of chances, or downs, and start over at 1st and 10, once again. If you fail to gain 10 yards, you give the ball to the other team via turnover UNLESS you punt (this is when they kick the ball far away from the end zone to make it harder for the other team to score — this is usually done on 4th down).

Defense has a goal of preventing the offense from scoring touchdowns/field goals and getting the ball back for your team to score instead.

You can get the ball in three main ways: interception, fumble, or turnover on downs. An interception is when the offense attempts to pass the ball, but the defense catches it instead (it is now your ball). A fumble happens when a player who is holding the ball drops it or gets it knocked out of their hand — allowing the other team to pick it up (it is now your ball). As explained, the offense has four downs to pick up a new set of downs, or score — in the event they don't...they lose their chances, and now the other team gets the ball (it is now your ball). As a defense, you are rooting for an interception, fumble, or turnover on downs to happen; you DO NOT want to allow the other team's offense to score points.

4. Main offensive positions explained:

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Quarterback: this is the player who throws the ball.

Wide receiver/tight end: this is the player who catches the ball (Travis Kelce is a tight end).

Running back/fullback: this is the player who runs/carries the ball.

Offensive lineman: these are the people blocking for the quarterback and running back. These include guards, offensive tackles, or the center (Travis Kelce's brother, Jason Kelce, is a center).

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5. Main defensive positions explained:

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Defensive backs: this is the player who prevents the wide receiver or tight end from catching passes from the quarterback. These include cornerbacks and safeties.

Linebackers: these are the players in the middle of the defense who cover pass catchers, stop running backs, or prevent the quarterback from running.

Defensive lineman: these are the people who want to tackle the running back or quarterback. These include defensive tackles, outside linebackers, and defensive ends.

6. How much is a touchdown worth?

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Ahhh...the point system — let's break it down.

Touchdowns are worth six points.

Field goals after a touchdown are worth one point (together this makes seven).

Two-point conversions are worth two points, as the name suggests (this can only be attempted after a touchdown if they choose NOT to go for a field goal worth one point).

Regular field goals NOT after a touchdown are worth three point (this is when a team kicks the ball through the yellow goal post located in the end zone).

Safeties are worth two points (this happens when anybody on offense gets tackled on the other team's end zone).

7. And why do the games feel long?

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A football game is 60 minutes long with four 15-minute quarters and one halftime. The game may feel long because of the pauses that occur during the game, such as kickoffs and downs during a drive. A referee must spot the ball in between each down so we know how many yards we need to go. Each team has three timeouts that pause the game, and penalties will delay a possession too.

Thanks for reading! Leave any questions you still have below!👇

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