So What are the Basics of an NFL match?

Normally, the NFL matches are played on Sunday, Monday and Thursday afternoon. All matches are broadcast live on different TV channels. The National Football League (NFL) is one of the most watched sports in the world. According to a recent report, over 17 million viewers watch an NFL match on TV and digital platforms. To understand the basics of the NFL game, you need to learn the basics about American Football. Below is some fundamental information about the game.

Players in a Team – According to the latest rules, an NFL team is allowed 53 players on their roster, but only 46 can actually participate in the game. These 46 players can suit up for the game, and other 7 players remain inactive on the matchday.

Players on the Field – Although an NFL team has a 46 players squad, each team can only have 11 players active on the field at a time. Players can be divided into three specialized teams including The Offense, the defense, and the special team. Why not take a look at our Review on the Independent Newspaper here.

Field DimensionsNFL matches are played on a rectangular field, which should be 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. End zones of the field are the extra 10 yards of length on either end of the field where a player can score.The field is marked with lines that indicate the length of the field, a thin line for every 5 yards and a dark line and field number for every 10 yards. These dimensions are consistent for American Football at domestic and professional (NFL) level. Check out our What is the NFL guide for more insights into this great game.

Goal Dimensions – the goal posts are located at the center of both end zones of the field. The goal crossbar for an official NFL field is 10 feet high, and the goal posts are an additional 20 feet high. So, the total height of the goal post is 30 feet. The width of an official NFL goal post is 18.5 feet. Learn about other sport news with subject matter such as Outside of the box in Africa.

Game Format – The official NFL match is 60 minutes long and the game consists of four quarters of 15 minutes. An NFL match itself is only 60 minutes long, but the actual match can take more than 3 hours to complete. Unlike soccer, the clock stops during an NFL match when the game stops. Therefore, no extra time is given at the end of each quarter. In the case of a tie, an extra 15-minute quarter is played to break the tie. We will be launching an Open Collective funding round soon, so watch this space.