Need a guide to football before the Super Bowl? We’ve got you covered.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Super Bowl 60 is right around the corner as the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will face off again on the biggest stage.
With the game being such a big event, it won’t just be diehard sports fans cheering on the Seahawks and Patriots. There will also be many viewers who are not familiar with the inner workings of the NFL.
If you’re one of those people, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what you need to know:
Why do teams defer the coin toss after winning?
When the coin toss is called, the winning team can pick whether they want to kick or receive the ball to start off the game. Oftentimes, the winning team will let the losing team pick instead.
When they defer that choice to the other team, it allows them to pick whether they want to kick or receive the ball at the start of the second half. Most teams want to receive at the start of the second half, because the receiving team is able to score immediately or stop any momentum the other team had going into halftime, so they allow the opposing team to choose who starts with the ball when the game begins.
It didn’t always work that way, though. It’s only been since 2008 that the NFL started allowing coin-toss winners to defer their choice.
What is a down?
In NFL football, a team gets four plays, called downs, to move the ball 10 or more yards. Each time the player with the football is tackled, the play is over, and they move on to the next down. If the team with the ball can move it 10 or more yards within those four plays, the count resets back to one.
Why do teams kick on a fourth down?
Fourth down is the last chance a team has to cross the first-down line and reset their downs. If the team tries and fails, the defending team will get the ball at that position. Oftentimes, this can put a previously offensive team in a bad position because the ball is still near their end zone.
To prevent getting trapped in a bad position, teams will often elect to kick the ball to the other team for their fourth play. The opposing team gets the ball anyway, but their plays will start wherever the player who catches the ball is tackled.
What is the line of scrimmage?
The line of scrimmage is the invisible line where a ball is placed to separate where the offense and defense can stand.
What is a touchdown?
If a player on the offense is holding the football (and doesn’t drop it) inside the opposing team’s end zone, they score six points. A seventh point is awarded if the team is able to kick the ball between the goalposts from the 15-yard line after the touchdown.
What is a field goal?
A field goal is when the football is kicked between the uprights in the back of the endzone. If it is kicked through the uprights after a touchdown, it is worth one point; if a team kicks it through the uprights without having scored a touchdown before, it is worth three points.
What is a 2-point conversion?
A team can forego kicking a point after touchdown instead opting to run a play from the two-yard line. If the play is successful and the player gets into the endzone, it is worth two points.
What does it mean when an official throws a flag?
Yellow penalty flags are what officials use to indicate when a player has committed a foul. When a referee sees an infraction, they throw a flag onto the field as close to where the infraction happened as possible. Depending on the penalty, a play may be stopped or waved off. Depending on the penalty that is called and what team it is called on, they can be penalized five yards, ten yards or 15 yards. Penalties such as pass interference are considered spot fouls, meaning the ball would be moved to wherever on the field the foul occurred.
What does offside mean?
A player can be penalized for being in an offside position if any part of their body is over the line of scrimmage when a play starts. Watching on TV, there’s a yellow line overlaid over the field to show where the teams should stand.
What is a sack?
A sack is when the quarterback is tackled while holding the ball. When a quarterback is sacked, their team has to start the next play from where they were tackled, adding to the distance their team needs to cross before the next first down.
What are the numbers given before each play?
In football, the team with the ball has four plays (called downs) to move the ball 10 yards forward. When they successfully move it 10 or more yards, the down resets to 1 again. When the scoreboard shows “2nd and 8,” for example, it means that they’re on their second down and there are eight yards left before the downs reset.