American football · Rules explained
Two-point conversion rules, and when to go for two
A two-point conversion is the try after a touchdown taken as a run or pass instead of a kick: reach the end zone and it scores 2 points, fall short and it scores nothing. In the NFL the ball is snapped from the 2-yard line, in college and high school from the 3-yard line. Coaches mostly save it for the fourth quarter, when the exact margin matters.
How does a two-point conversion work?
After every touchdown the scoring team gets one untimed play, the try (see how scoring works in American football). It can kick for 1 point or run a normal play from close to the goal line for 2. The two-point play scores just like a touchdown: a runner who breaks the plane of the goal line, or a pass caught in the end zone. Anything else scores nothing, and the touchdown's 6 points stand.
| Level | Kick from | Two from | Defense can score? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | 15-yard line | 2-yard line | Yes, 2 points (since 2015) |
| College (NCAA) | 3-yard line | 3-yard line | Yes, 2 points |
| High school (NFHS) | 3-yard line | 3-yard line | No |
In 2015 the NFL moved the kick back from the 2-yard line to the 15, about a 33-yard kick, while the two-point try stayed at the 2. The same change let the defense score 2 by running a blocked kick, interception or fumble back to the other end zone. Under NFHS high school rules the try ends as soon as the defense gets the ball.
When should you go for two?
Most of the time, teams kick: on average a two-point try is only worth more if it succeeds more than half as often as the kick. The decision depends on the score, so it belongs mostly to the fourth quarter, when few possessions are left for the margin to change.
A two-point chart makes the call from the margin after the touchdown, before the try. These are the spots where going for two usually pays:
| After the TD | Kick makes it | Two makes it | Why go for two |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down 2 | Down 1 | Tied | Levels the game now |
| Down 5 | Down 4 | Down 3 | A field goal can then tie it |
| Down 8 | Down 7 | Down 6 | Make it and a touchdown and kick wins (see below) |
| Down 10 | Down 9 | Down 8 | Turns a two-score deficit into one score |
| Up 1 | Up 2 | Up 3 | A field goal can then only tie, not win |
| Up 4 | Up 5 | Up 6 | A field goal then makes it a two-score lead |
| Up 5 | Up 6 | Up 7 | A touchdown and extra point can then only tie |
| Up 12 | Up 13 | Up 14 | Two touchdowns and two kicks then only tie |
Down 8 is worth a closer look. Kick, and your next touchdown and kick only ties. Go for two and you know early what you need: make it and a touchdown and kick wins, miss it and a touchdown and two still ties. Say every kick is good, your team converts half its two-point tries, overtime is a coin flip, and you score one more touchdown while the other team scores nothing. Going for two now wins that game 5 times in 8; kicking now wins it 1 time in 2.
Outside spots like these, teams usually kick. The chart ignores the time left and how likely your team is to convert, and early in a game a failed try throws away the point a kick would probably have made.
What is a one-point safety?
A safety that happens during a try is worth 1 point instead of 2. It can go to either team:
- To the team that scored the touchdown, when the defense gets the ball during the try and is then downed in its own end zone.
- To the defense, when the team trying the conversion is driven all the way back and downed in its own end zone.
It is one of the rarest plays in the game, and impossible under NFHS high school rules. The second case, a single point for the defense, is the only way a team could finish a regulation game on exactly 1 point. College overtime is the one other route: from the third overtime each possession is a two-point try, so a safety on one is worth 1 as well. The score combinations tool checks which final scores are possible.
How the app handles it
In Sport Score Tracker, after a touchdown you tap the same team again to choose the conversion: Extra point (kick +1), 2-point (+2) or No good (+0). Nothing else can be added until you choose, and undo lets you change the choice if a try is overturned.
The app has no defensive two-point conversion, one-point safety or overtime (so no college two-point rounds), and no youth preset where a kick is worth 2: Extra point is always +1 and 2-point always +2. If the defense returns a try for 2, choose No good and then add Safety +2 to the defending team, which keeps the total right.
Questions
Can you go for two after a field goal?
No. The try, whether a kick or a two-point attempt, only follows a touchdown. A field goal is worth 3 on its own and the scoring team then kicks off.
When did the NFL add the two-point conversion?
The NFL added it in 1994, 36 years after college football adopted it in 1958.
Why is the extra point kick worth 2 in youth football?
Some youth tackle leagues reverse the values. Pop Warner, for example: Kick 2, run or pass 1. That is the opposite of the NFL, college and high school, so check your league's rules before the game.
Do you have to go for two in overtime?
In college, yes: from the second overtime a touchdown must be followed by a two-point try, and from the third overtime each possession is a single two-point play. The NFL has no such rule, and in high school it depends on your state association's overtime rules.
Last reviewed September 25, 2026
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