Questions tagged [american-football]
Questions about the sport of American football. This should not be confused with the [football] tag, which only applies to the sport called "soccer" in most of North America.
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All time QB with the worst December+ INT ratio
For a long time I've been a fan of Matthew Stafford. He had suffered in Detroit for years. Detroit, in their best years would appear to have their playoff hopes get dashed in December.
It seems that ...
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NFL Team Lose on Purpose for Draft Pick
How does the NFL prevent a team on the last week of the season to losing on purpose ensuring a #1 draft pick for the following year?
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Why do ESPN and others still list the Eagles as having a chance to win the NFC East title?
As of Christmas Day 2021 with 2 games to go for each the Cowboys at 10-4 and the Eagles at 7-7 why do ESPN and others still show the Eagles with a chance to win the NFC east division title?
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What would be the effect if the 2-point conversion was changed to 3-point?
As an active follower of the NFL from outside the US, I have always found it curious that teams overwhelmingly take a 1-point field goal rather than a 2-point conversion. Some reasons are given in the ...
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How do NFL players know a fair catch has been called?
I know that a raised arm wave signals a fair catch. But I can imagine gunners and such sometimes will be in the midst of fighting through blocks or at least have someone blocking their vision for a ...
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Quarterback conduct after a game
It seems that at the end of every NFL game the two opposing QBs meet in the field, hug, and chat for a few minutes. My question is, has the league ordered or encouraged them to do this, or is it ...
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When did American football teams start honoring players who have passed away by starting 10 men on the field?
For American football games (college and professional), when did they begin honoring players who passed away by starting ten players on the field?
I haven't watched football for that long, but my ...
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Why TD when recovered on ½-yard line and "momentumed" to the end zone, in American football?
Why was it a touchdown in the Falcons vs. Cowboys game when a blocked punt was recovered ball on "½-yard line", but the momentum carried the player over to the end zone? The player was ...
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Why do five Week 15 NFL games have a start time of TBD?
As of 2021-11-20, week 15 of the 2021 NFL schedule has five games with starting times of TBD.
Why does this week have so many games this late in the season without starting times? When are the ...
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What does the B I G mean on a college American football field?
I was watching this first half shut-out between Michigan and Ohio and on the field there is B I G painted on the field. The paint is white, the B is just outlined while the I G is solid white.
What is ...
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In American football can it not be Illegal use of hands on the ball carrier?
It's fairly common that the defense is called for an:
"Illegal use of hands - Hands to the face".
But, I've seen it a couple of time now, when the ball carrier (offence) does the same thing ...
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Why don't NFL teams keep a punter who can kick field goals?
At the 2021 Week 8 game between the Steelers and Browns, the Steelers kicker was injured during a fake field goal attempt in the second quarter and couldn't return. The Steelers did not attempt any ...
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How do "special" teams differ from "regular" teams in American football?
If you are "kicking off" the ball, you will need a "kicker," which you wouldn't need ordinarily.
If your team is "receiving" a ball, you would need two men in the back ...
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Has any team won a non shut out game with only field goals since the nfl afl merger
If there are more than one of those games sort it by highest scoring to least scoring.
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What constitutes a "game-winning drive" statistically?
After the Buccaneers @ Patriots game - in which the Buccaneers won - it was revealed by statisticians that it was Tom Brady's 50th career "game-winning drive".
What constitutes a "game-...
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Fair catch of a kick-off that hits the ground first
Can a player on the receiving team of a kick-off call and make a "fair catch" of the ball if the kick is squibbed down the field (i.e., it has touched the ground first and remains in the ...
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What if a referee breaks the rules?
If a referee breaks official regulations are there any corrective courses of action?
For example if a call is challenged and accepted by the ref after official review. Or more extreme if a ref decided ...
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Which losing team has had the most possession time?
In the NFL, which team has had the greatest time in possession but still lost the match?
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Is an infinite game possible?
Suppose that, in a football game, for whatever reason, one team wanted to prolong the game indefinitely and never reach an end.
Now, suppose they had the ball, say on the 25 yard line, then they would ...
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Why did NFL Europe fail?
I recently learned that in the late 90s to early 2000's that an NFL sponsored/organized American Football league was playing in Europe. Based on attendance numbers, I could find it seemed decently ...
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Is there a strategic reason why the wildcat play type isn't used in the NFL?
The wildcat formation comes and goes at the collegiate and prep levels and isn't totally unseen.
However, it's rarely used at the pro level, despite having ample talent to run it on various teams. ...
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Is an NFL player who forces a fumble that goes out of the end zone not credited with the safety?
I can imagine four situations where the title applies.
The ballcarrier is out of the end zone and fumbles when he is tackled. This would not be a safety except for the fumble.
The ballcarrier is in ...
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Numbers on American football field [duplicate]
I get American football in Brazil. I try to watch the game, but, honestly, can't understand a thing.
One thing that made me curious was the numbers on the ground. For instance, there's a "1st &...
user21366
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What happened to EDP445?
What happened to sports youtuber edp445? He had a channel with 2M+ subscribers but his channel has been terminated. Why was his channel terminated?
user21238
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Why is the NFL considering an 18-game season?
I'm confused as to why they might implement this next year. What are the pros of an 18-game season? What is the reasoning behind it?
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Since the NFL changed to the 6 team playoff format, what is the best and worst record for each rank 1-6?
What is the best and worst record in each position?
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What are the reasons/benefits to continue with the conference structure in NFL?
Outside of history, what are the reasons/benefits to continue with the conference structure in NFL? Under the current structure, it is impossible for there to be a Superbowl between the two best teams ...
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What is a bye week in the NFL and what are some important things to know regarding this?
I've recently become a big fan of the NFL and noticed some teams had a Bye week.
What is this week for, how does it work, and what effect does it have on team strategies?
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American Football (NFL) 4th Down/Last 2 minutes Fumble Rules
I've been reading into the fumbling rules and saw this on Wikipedia. "In American football the offense cannot advance the ball if it recovers its own fumble on fourth down, or in the last two ...
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What are the 2 nfl teams that played each other the least and the most?
What are the 2 nfl teams that played each other the least and the most?
P.S. This is between two teams that exist right now not defunct teams
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Which NFL quarterbacks traded to a new team and took them to the Super Bowl in their first season with their new team?
Much like this year’s Tom Brady situation if he were to go to the Super Bowl. It’s his first season with the Bucs, who had a losing record last year. What, if any, past quarterbacks have taken their ...
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Is it a touchdown if the receiver puts a knee out of bounds before the second foot in bounds?
Is this considered a touchdown - attempting a catch, the receiver gets one foot touched down in bounds, then the knee touches the ground out of bounds, then the second foot touches in bounds?
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Why could the fumble in the Browns/Jets game not be advanced?
In the game between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets on 12/27/2020, Baker Mayfield fumbled on the final Cleveland posession, at 1:25 remaining.
The ball was fumbled during an attempted ...
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NFL strength of schedule in deciding playoffs and draft picks
Why is a lower strength of schedule percentage better than a higher one when determining a playoff spot or a draft pick?
I would expect that a stronger schedule wins out over a weaker one.
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Why don't NFL defenders wrap up during tackles as much as they used to?
20, 30 years ago, by far the most common tackling style was for a defender to wrap up the ball carrier and drag him to the ground.
In the last 10 years, glancing tackles have become a lot more common. ...
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Does a blocked extra point count as a missed extra point for the kicker?
Does a blocked extra point count as a missed extra point? This was the case in last Monday night's game when Justin Tucker's extra point was blocked and from what I understand it was counted as a miss ...
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False start when close to your own end zone
If the ball is extremely close to your own end zone and your offensive line false starts (or commits any infraction, really) and the ball cannot be moved any closer to the goal line, what happens? ...
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Ball placement when a receiver catches it
Say you are going down the field from the 1 yard line. If the receiver catches the ball and his feet are at the 10 but the ball is extended behind him at the 8. Is the ball marked down at the 10 or ...
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Is the field goal good?
During a field goal, if the ball hits the ground and bounces through the uprights and above the crossbar, is it still good despite hitting the ground first?
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Highest record a nfl team can get and miss the playoffs
What is the highest record a team can get and miss the playoffs? Assume the 2019 scheduling rules and playoff setup.
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Have NFL games been played at neutral venues before?
On week 13 of the 2020 NFL season, because of strict COVID-19 restrictions in their home county of Santa Clara, the San Fransisco 49ers played the Buffalo Bills at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona, ...
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Who is awarded the sack when a player is not actually tackled?
On December 6, 2020 at 4:30pm, the Green Bay Packers played a most riveting contest with the Philadelphia Eagles.
On one play where Green Bay was in possession, Aaron Rodgers (the Green Bay QB) was ...
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Why does the official say “prior to the pass” or “after the pass” when calling a defensive holding?
Is there a difference in enforcement if the holding penalty happened after and not before a pass? This is NFL if it makes a difference.
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What happens when a play is accidentally awarded a touchdown?
This happened a few minutes ago in the LSU vs Alabama football game. The LSU runner was going down the field and dropped the ball just short of the end zone. I know that if the ball went out of bounds ...
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NFL teams with as many or more thrown interceptions than completions in a game
The Denver Broncos had only a single completion pass while they threw 2 interceptions against the New Orleans Saints in week 12 of the 2020 season. The low completion count was due to all the Broncos ...
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Why is it a considered a passing touchdown in cases when the receiver gains most of the yards?
I don't understand why it is considered a passing touchdown that accrues to the QB's stats, in cases when the receiver gains most of the yards. Consider a 5 yard pass where the receiver then runs 90 ...
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NFL football goal to go situation
When there's a goal to go situation and a team keeps making penalty they keep giving them halfway to the goal halfway to the goal penalty now they run out of room there at the goal line. Can the team ...
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Why do football teams like running up the middle?
I see over and over that the ball is on the middle of the field and the offense sets up a tight formation which is a run up the middle. Why not set the formation to run up the middle and run to the ...
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Why would a football punter turn and run the ball into his own end zone?
In the Jets vs. Chargers NFL game on 2020-11-22, LA were about to punt from their 28 yard line with 8 seconds left. However, the punter turned and ran into his own end zone, giving NY two points. What ...
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How do Southeastern Conference football records compare for divisional tiebreakers?
In the SEC (Southeastern Conference) for NCAA football, division tiebreaker rule 1.B states the following:
B. Records of the tied teams within the division;
In this context, precisely how do “...
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