page_title: American football
section_title: Scoring
hierarchical_section_title: American football / Rules / Scoring
caption_attribution_description: Navy slot back Shun White, #26 scores Navy's first touchdown on a 26-yard run in the second quarter. Navy lost 24-23 against the University of Tulsa’s Golden Hurricanes in the first overtime game in Academy history.
context_page_description: American football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.
  American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby. The first American football match was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time.
context_section_description: In football, the winner is the team that has scored more points at the end of the game. There are multiple ways to score in a football game. The touchdown (TD), worth six points, is the most valuable scoring play in American football. A touchdown is scored when a live ball is advanced into, caught in, or recovered in the opposing team's end zone. The scoring team then attempts a try or conversion, more commonly known as the point(s)-after-touchdown (PAT), which is a single scoring opportunity. A PAT is most commonly attempted from the two- or three-yard line, depending on the level of play. If a PAT is scored by a placekick or dropkick through the goal posts, it is worth one point, typically called the extra point. If it is scored by what would normally be a touchdown it is worth two points, typically called the two-point conversion. In general, the extra point is almost always successful while the two-point conversion is a much riskier play with a higher probability of failure; accordingly, extra point attempts are far more common than two-point conversion attempts.
  A field goal (FG), worth three points, is scored when the ball is placekicked or dropkicked through the uprights and over the crossbars of the defense's goalposts. After a PAT attempt or successful field goal, the scoring team must kick the ball off to the other team.
  A safety is scored when the ball carrier is tackled in their own end zone. Safeties are worth two points, which are awarded to the defense. In addition, the team that conceded the safety must kick the ball to the scoring team via a free kick.
caption: A player for the Navy Midshipmen (dark jersey) scores a touchdown while a defender from the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (in white) looks on. The goal line is marked by the small orange pylon
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