NFL

The National Football League (NFL) was founded in 1920. It includes 32 teams, who compete over a 17-game regular season, with the ultimate goal of reaching the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl.

NFL Scoring system

There are four ways to score points in the NFL. 

Touchdowns: Touchdowns are worth six points, and are scored when a team possesses the football in their own end zone, which is a ten-yard box at the end of the field. Usually, this happens when an offense either runs the ball into the end zone or throws a pass to a receiver in the end zone. However, sometimes touchdowns can occur in other ways, such as on a punt or kick return, an interception, a fumble recovery, or a blocked kick. 

Point-after-touchdown: PATs happen directly after a touchdown. Teams can elect to kick the PAT, which is worth one point, or attempt a single play from the five-yard line which is worth points, if they are able to get back into the end zone. If the defense is able to create an interception, fumble, or block the kick, and proceed to return it to their own end zone, the defense is awarded two points. 

Field goals: Field goals are worth three points, and are scored when a team kicks the football through the yellow goal post, which stands on both sides of the field. The NFL record long for a field goal is 66 yards, but most teams do not attempt field goals unless they are within the 40-yard line. 

Safeties: Safeties are worth two points, and are very rarely scored. Safeties occur when the defense makes a tackle in the opposing endzone. Even more rare, safeties occur if a player on offense steps out of the back of their end zone. Safeties also result in a turnover. 

NFL Playoffs

The NFL season takes place over 18 weeks, with each team playing 17 games and getting one bye. The league is split into two conferences, each with 16 teams. Each conference is divided into four, four-team divisions. The winner of each division automatically qualifies for the postseason. From there, each conference brings three wild-card teams (the three non-division winners with the next-best records), to make seven total playoff teams per conference. 

The team with the best record in each conference gets a bye. If two teams are tied atop the standings, the head-to-head record is considered, and if the two teams never played each other, the conference record determines the tiebreaker. 

The next six teams compete in the Wild Card Round, where the three division winners host the three Wild Card teams. The second seed hosts the seventh seed, the third seed hosts the sixth, and so on. The three winners advance to the Divisional Round, which also includes the two top seeds, meaning eight teams advance to the Divisional Round. 

The NFL Playoffs utilize reseeding, meaning if the seventh seed defeats the two seed, the seventh seed would then face the one seed in the next round. However, if the two-seed defeats the seventh seed, they would not play the one-seed, because the one-seed always gets to play the lowest-ranked team in the Divisional Round. 

The Divisional Round winners then advance to the Conference Championships, where the higher seed would again host the lower seed. The winner of each Conference Championship would advance to the Super Bowl, which is held at a neutral site. 

NFL Schedule

Each team plays seventeen games and gets a bye. Each team plays 12 conference games and five non-conference games. Of the 12 conference games, six are within the division, as each divisional opponent squares off twice each season (once at home, once on the road). The conferences alternate by year, with the NFC receiving nine home games and eight road games one year, and the AFC receiving nine home games and eight road games the next year. 

For the most part, games are played on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. Most teams play on Sunday at either 1 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET. However, there are three primetime games each week. Thursday night football, Sunday night football, and Monday night football are the primetime games. Sometimes, there are two Monday night games. 

On certain weeks, special games are played. On Thanksgiving week, three games are played on Thanksgiving Thursday, including two that feature the Lions and Cowboys. A Black Friday primetime special is played on the day after Thanksgiving, which is the only regularly scheduled Friday game of the season. Additionally, primetime games are usually played on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, regardless of what day of the week those holidays fall upon. 

The Pro Bowl games are hosted the week in between the Conference Championship and the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl features skills challenges and a flag football game between the league's biggest stars. 

 

NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is held each year in late April, giving each team an opportunity to elect seven prospects from the NCAA. 

The draft takes place over three days, with the first round being held in primetime on a Thursday Night, rounds two and three being held on Friday, and rounds four through seven held on Saturday. 

The draft order is determined by the league standings from the previous season, but teams will often trade draft picks, sometimes years in advance, and sometimes just minutes before the selection is made. 

NFL Teams

There are 32 teams, split into two conferences. The National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). Each conference consists of four divisions. 

NFC West:

• Seattle Seahawks
• San Francisco 49ers
• Los Angeles Rams
• Arizona Cardinals

NFC North:

• Minnesota Vikings
• Green Bay Packers
• Detroit Lions
• Chicago Bears

NFC South:

• Carolina Panthers
• Atlanta Falcons
• New Orleans Saints
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC East:

• New York Giants
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Commanders
• Dallas Cowboys

AFC West:

• Denver Broncos
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Los Angeles Chargers

AFC North:

• Cleveland Browns
• Cincinnati Bengals
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Baltimore Ravens

AFC South:

• Indianapolis Colts
• Tennessee Titans
• Houston Texans
• Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC East:

• Buffalo Bills
• New England Patriots
• New York Jets
• Miami Dolphins