How scoring works in American football

American football scoring at a glance

A touchdown with a good kick adds up to 7 points, which is why people often say a touchdown is "worth 7". With a two-point conversion it is 8, and if the try fails it stays at 6.

How many points is a touchdown?

A touchdown is worth 6 points. It is scored when a player holding the ball breaks the plane of the other team's goal line, or catches the ball in the end zone. Only the ball has to reach the plane, so a runner can score while their feet are still outside the end zone.

Touchdowns scored by the defense or on a return count exactly the same. An interception or fumble returned to the end zone, or a kickoff or punt run back all the way, is worth 6 and is followed by a try.

What happens after a touchdown?

The scoring team gets one more play, called the try, and the game clock does not run during it. The team chooses one of two options:

• Kick for 1. This is the extra point, also called the PAT (point after touchdown). The kick has to pass over the crossbar and between the uprights, like a field goal.
• Go for 2. A run or pass that reaches the end zone, like a touchdown from very short range. This is the two-point conversion.

In the NFL the kick is snapped from the 15-yard line and a two-point try from the 2-yard line. College and high school tries are both snapped from the 3-yard line, whichever the team chooses. Some youth tackle leagues change the values, so check before the game. The rules at each level, and when to go for two, are on the two-point conversion page.

How much is a field goal?

A field goal is worth 3 points. It is a placekick or dropkick from scrimmage that passes over the crossbar and between the uprights. Teams usually try one on fourth down, when they are close enough to kick but unlikely to gain the yards they need for a new set of downs. A missed field goal scores nothing, and the other team takes over.

There is a rarer way to score 3. After a fair catch, the receiving team may take a free kick at goal, and a good one counts as a field goal. The NFL and high school rules allow this fair-catch kick, and college rules added it for the 2026 season.

What is a safety in football?

A safety is worth 2 points to the defense. Most often the ball carrier is tackled or forced out of bounds in their own end zone. A safety is also given when the offense is called for holding in its own end zone, or when a bad snap goes out of the back of its end zone.

The team that gives up a safety also gives up the ball: it has to free kick to the other team. So a safety costs 2 points and a possession, which makes it one of the most damaging plays in the game.

Can the defense score on a try?

Yes, in the NFL and in college. A defense that runs a blocked kick, an interception or a fumble back to the other end zone during a try scores 2 points. Under NFHS high school rules it cannot, because the try ends as soon as the defense gains possession. The two-point conversion page covers this and the even rarer one-point safety.

How long is an American football game?

An NFL or college game has 60 minutes of game clock, in 4 quarters of 15 minutes. High school quarters last 12 minutes. The clock stops often, so a game takes much longer than that to play.

What happens if an American football game is tied?

That depends on the level, and it is the biggest difference between the rulebooks:

Points in overtime count just as they do in regulation, and a touchdown still gets a try unless it ends the game. When a team has to go for two in overtime is on the two-point conversion page.

An American football game scored play by play

Here is a game between the Wildcats and the Mustangs with every kind of scoring play in it, including a pick-six, a failed two-point try and a blocked extra point run back for 2. The first column is the quarter.

Two rows trip scorekeepers up. The safety in the second quarter goes to the Wildcats, even though the Mustangs had the ball. And the blocked kick in the third quarter scores for the Wildcats during the Mustangs' own try, which is how a 17-15 deficit became a 17-17 tie. Under NFHS high school rules that return would score nothing, and the Wildcats would have won 22-20 instead. To check whether any final score can happen, use the score combinations checker.

How do you keep score from the sideline?

1. Before kickoff, check which rules apply: NFL, college, high school or a youth league (flag football has its own values). They differ on overtime, on whether the defense can score during a try and, in some youth leagues, on what a kick is worth.
2. After a touchdown, write down the 6, then wait for the try before you write the new total.
3. For a safety, give the 2 points to the defense, not to the team that had the ball.
4. At the end of each quarter, note the score.
5. At the end of the game, check your total against the official scoreboard.