response: I don't know what constitutes a "play", but the offense gets four of them to move forward at least 10 yards. If they don't, the other team gets the ball.
original_response: The offense has to advance ten yards in four plays, which are actually called downs. Otherwise the other team gets the ball.
history: I love American football. It's probably my favorite sport. Oh, that's nice. It's also called gridiron football, and played by 11 people on each team. Wow, would you believe I thought it was 10 players? That's crazy lol Huh, anyway, the offense controls the football and attempts to advance the field by running or passing. That's called a play, right? I don't know a lot of technical terms of the game.
knowledge: The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, and otherwise they turn over the football to the defense; if the offense succeeds in advancing ten yards or more, they are given a new set of four downs.