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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What team rebounded the best and worst?
My question is which team from a prior season did really good the next season.For example: team a gets a 3-13 record and is 30th team and next season gets a really good ranking(counting the playoffs ...
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What happens when the QB throws the ball and it lands behind the line of scrimmage without being caught by either team? [closed]
QB throws ball and lands behind line of scrimmage without being caught by either team an hits the ground
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What is the earliest a team can clinch a division?
My question is what week is the earliest you can clinch a division?
What would the other teams in the division and conference have to be like?
Also what is the earliest you can clinch the playoffs(so ...
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Could an immediate field goal be advantageous in NFL?
Consider this strategy: If a team reaches the 40 or so yard line, it would immediately go for the field goal attempt, instead of trying the touch down.
This could be considered "small ball", ...
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Why do they have fake crowd noises in the NFL?
Because of COVID-19, the NFL stands are empty. They are stimulating the crowd with audio. It reminds me of a laugh track on TV, which I find to be very annoying.
Why do they have these fake crowd ...
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What have been the NFL scoring rules changes?
I'm looking for a list of all scoring and scoring-related rules changes in the NFL. While the NFL goes back to 1920s, I'll be satisfied with just a list of rules changes going back to 1970, when the ...
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Why do the players in this video appear to be trying not to get a touchdown?
There's a clickbaitily-titled "Smartest '1000 IQ Plays' in Sports History" video on YouTube. The second and fourth clips in the video both have American-football players apparently trying ...
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What differences are there between the XFL rules of today and the rules of XFL past?
As the title states - I know XFL was a league in the past, with rule differences between them and the NFL. I see the list of XFL/NFL rule differences of the current XFL league exist here, but I'm ...
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Super Bowl home field advantage - home team vs away?
My understanding is that the AFC and NFC alternate nominal home and away team status in the Super Bowl. In the theoretical case where a team makes it to the Super Bowl in the same year that their ...
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In American football, can a player intentionally fake an injury to stop the clock?
Wondering if this is against the rules or if it’s a loophole for teams to stop the clock and use it like a timeout.
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Why do teams almost always pass on 2-point conversions?
I found an article saying that from 2011-2017, there were 506 two-point conversion attempts in the NFL, and 79% of those plays were passes. Is there any explanation for why teams pass so often on two-...
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What are the fewest passing yards by quarterbacks in an NFL playoffs win?
At the end of the Tennessee Titans victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the 2019-2020 playoffs, the commentators announced that Ryan Tannehil became the first Quarterback to ...
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What changed so that the measuring chains are so rarely used?
I'm only a casual fan and I don't follow every change in the rules each year.
But decades ago I seem to remember that in any given game, NFL or college, the measuring chains would be brought out onto ...
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How does a fumble at kickoff or a punt - recovered by kicking team - affect win conditions in overtime?
In the NFL, Overtime conditions state that if the team to possess the ball first score a Touchdown on their first possession, then they win the game. If they score a Field Goal, or fail to score, then ...
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Does the coin have to flip in NFL rules?
In a 2016 NFL playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals, the game went to overtime. On the overtime coin flip, the referee threw the coin in the air and it didn't flip. The ...
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Can You Down The Ball During an Extra Point?
Let's say hypothetically, a team scored a touchdown but putting them ahead only 1 point late in the 4th quarter and kicking an extra point would only add an additional point. To take time away from ...
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Largest comeback against Bill Belichick Patriots
What is the largest deficit overcome against the New England Patriots in the Bill Belichick era? I have searched all over the Internet and cannot find a clear answer.
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Intentional grounding when receiver has stepped out of bounds
I was reading the Intentional Grounding (American Football) criteria listed on Wikipedia. According to the given criteria I think the following would be intentional grounding although I've never seen ...
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NFL players with multiple punt return touchdowns in a game
Nyheim hines of the Indianapolis Colts returned 2 punts for touchdowns in the week 16 game of the 2019-20 season against the Carolina Panthers.
How many players have returned multiple punts for ...
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When was the last time a kicker was released after making two 60+ yard field goals during the season?
In 2019, Brett Maher made a 62 and 63 yard field goals during the season. However, he was released on 9 Dec 2019.
When was the last time a kicker was released after making two (or more) 60+ yard ...
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What is the highest strength of victory that can be attained by an NFL team?
A follow-up to the question What is “Strength of Victory”?:
I was trying to find the theoretical maximum of a team's strength of victory (SOV) after an NFL regular season is complete. Certainly, just ...
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Field goal then safety in overtime?
I know this scenario is extremely unlikely and will probably never occur, bit I am still curious. Say, overtime starts and Team A receives the ball first. They end up kicking a field goal and the ball ...
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Where is the ball spotted on a quarterback slide
When a quarterback slides feet first, is the ball spotted at the feet or where the ball is held in the hands, which could be 2 or 3 feet behind the feet?
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Rule for stopping / starting the clock when running out of bounds with the football in NFL & NCAA
What are the rules and are they the same in NCAA and NFL when it comes to stopping and starting the game clock when a player runs out of bounds with the football.
What I have found out is that ...
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Why do teams leave ~4 seconds for a field goal attempt
In the NFL, it is common for teams to leave about 4 seconds on the game clock before taking a timeout, or spiking the ball, when going for an end-of-half field goal attempt. Why do they do this?
I ...
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Can a field goal go in off a player?
In American football, sometimes on long field goal attempts the defending team positions a player in the end zone in case the kick is short. Suppose the ball were to hit an upright, carom off this ...
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Is it allowed for the quarterback (or someone else) to punt the ball if he can't find another play?
If the quarterback (or someone else) on fourth down gets in trouble and hasn't passed the line of scrimmage, can he change the intended play and instead punt the ball away?
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When is a penalty enforced by half the distance to goal in american football
When getting close to the goal line in american football a penalty is enforced by half the distance to goal.
From what yards does that start or does that depend on the penalty (5/10/15 yards)?
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How does a player re-establish position infield?
So in the NFL if a player goes out of bounds on a play he must "re-establish position" inbounds before he can touch the ball. How or what does re-establishing position entail?
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Most consecutive turn overs for an NFL team in a single game
The New England Patriots hosted the Cleveland Browns on week 8 of the 2019 season. The Browns had 3 turnovers on 3 consecutive offensive plays. Nick Chubb fumbled on back to back Browns' plays, and ...
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NFL football incentives
How do incentives work in the NFL in respect to salary cap? For example last season, if Nick Foles played 3 more snaps against the Redskins, he would have received $1,000,000 based on total plays ...
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Is grabbing the shoulder pads defensive holding?
During the Monday night game between Green Bay and Detroit on 14 October 2019, Detroit’s Trey Flowers was twice penalized for “Illegal Hands to the Face” when he wasn’t really touching the face but ...
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Defensive penalty
It was 3rd and 10 for the Green Bay packers when Detroit sacked Rodgers. But there was an illegal use of hands to the face-mask by the defense resulting in a 5 yard penalty and a 1st down that would ...
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Ten players on offense
If a team has only ten players on the field for offense, are they still required to have seven on the line of scrimmage, or can they have four in the backfield?
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Has any NFL team ever gone an entire season without trailing by 7 or more points?
According to this article, the 2010 Green Bay Packers and 1962 Detroit Lions went the entire season without ever trailing in a game by more than 7 points. (Did any other teams accomplish that?)
Has ...
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How is a Quarterback's passer rating calculated in the NFL?
In the NFL, all of the stats like YPG, and average fantasy points are calculated somehow.
How is a passer's rating calculated?
Does it have something to do with the average yards gained per completion,...
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Has any player in NFL history been drafted to more than one team?
Has there ever been an NFL player that was drafted by multiple teams?
How did they manage to do so?
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NFL receiver down by contact only, if not out of bounds
At the end of the Saints game on 9 September 2019, would the clock have run out if the receiver had not been touched by the defender?
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What is the "main" position of players that are on field at NFL kickoff?
As far as I know, players on the special teams (except the kicker, punter and long snapper) are offensive or defensive (backup) players, due to the limited number of players on the active roster. What ...
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What limits are there for an NFL teams reserves list?
There is a maximum to the number of players that are allowed on the active roster of a team in the NFL, but is there any limit to the number of players who may be placed on a teams reserve list (...
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NFL Overtime Rules - why are they like this?
Why do the NFL's overtime rules allow for a team to potentially lose without their offense ever taking the field? What caused the league to decide on this format for OT and why did they decide to have ...
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Why are the Cowboys known as "America's team"?
Considering that there have been plenty of more successful teams both in football (NE Patriots - 6 SB wins) and in American sports in general (GS Warriors, LA Lakers, NY Yankees, etc.) in the past two ...
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How do I memorize hand signals faster being called out as a play during football?
I’m in high school football, currently playing as a wide receiver and corner. I was wondering what is an easy way to memorize plays. I have such a hard time doing this when the coaches end up calling ...
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When did the NFL move the stanchion out of the end zone?
I was just watching a clip of Bart Starr's game-winning quarterback sneak in the Ice Bowl. One thing I noticed is that the goal post stanchion is inside the end zone, not behind the end zone as it is ...
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Which quarterback has had the lowest "highest amount of interceptions thrown" during a given regular season?
Ben Roethlisberger led the league during the 2018 NFL season with 16 interceptions. At a glance, that number seems low.
Since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, which quarterback has had the lowest "highest ...
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What rules govern touchdowns/touchbacks if there is a fumble involved?
I have a question specifically about a passage of the official NFL 2018 rulebook (https://operations.nfl.com/media/3277/2018-nfl-rulebook_final-version.pdf).
Please take a look at Rule 3 - Section 2 -...
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What are the top 5 lowest scoring super bowls?
The New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13 - 3 in Super Bowl LIII in the lowest scoring super bowl of all time.
What are the top 5 lease scoring super bowls ever? Please list the teams ...
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NFL Pro Bowl 2019
Was there a coin toss to decide who gets ball first ? If so, what was the outcome?
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NFL #1 offense getting shut out in a half in the postseason
The Kansas City Chiefs had the #1 offense of the 2018 regular season. The New England Patriots shut out the Cheifs 14 - 0 in the first half of the AFC Championship game. The Patriots eventually beat ...
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Another crossbar in american football
Could anyone tell me, why there is no crossbar on the upper side of the uprights in american football? It would make officiating difficult situations easier. Is there an engineering reason? Is it ...
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