Scoring
12 questions new fans ask, answered in plain English. Each answer links the rulebook or league page it comes from.
- The basics
- Scoring
- Positions
- Penalties and replay
- Clock, timeouts and overtime
- Kickoffs and punts
- The season and standings
- The draft
- Rosters and money
- Watching a game
- Fan etiquette and fun facts
How many points is a touchdown?
Six. You score one by carrying the ball into the opponent's end zone or catching a pass there.
Source: NFL Video Rulebook: Scoring Plays (NFL Football Operations) · Football Terms (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
What happens right after a touchdown?
The scoring team gets one untimed bonus play called a try. It can kick for 1 point, snapping from the 15-yard line, or run or pass for 2 points from the 2-yard line.
Source: NFL Video Rulebook: Scoring Plays (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
How long is an extra-point kick?
The ball is snapped from the 15-yard line, and the end zone adds 10 more yards to the goal posts. The holder also sets up several yards behind the line, so the kick ends up a bit over 30 yards, roughly 33. That's why extra points are no longer automatic.
Source: NFL Video Rulebook: Scoring Plays (NFL Football Operations) · 2024 NFL Rulebook (NFL Football Operations) - unchanged basics: field, timing, timeouts · Trade press (CBS Sports): NFL one-point safety explained · link to this answer
What's a two-point conversion?
Instead of kicking after a touchdown, the team runs one play from the 2-yard line. If the ball gets into the end zone, it scores 2 points.
Source: NFL Video Rulebook: Scoring Plays (NFL Football Operations) · Football Terms (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
How much is a field goal, and how is it measured?
A field goal is worth 3 points and must go between the uprights and over the crossbar. Broadcasters measure the distance from the spot of the kick to the goal posts, which sit at the back of the 10-yard end zone. So a kick snapped from the 30-yard line is about a 47-yarder.
Source: NFL Video Rulebook: Scoring Plays (NFL Football Operations) · 2024 NFL Rulebook (NFL Football Operations) - unchanged basics: field, timing, timeouts · link to this answer
What is a safety?
A safety is 2 points for the defense, usually from tackling the ball carrier in his own end zone. The team that gave up the safety then has to kick the ball away from its own 20-yard line.
Source: Football Terms (NFL Football Operations) · NFL Rules Digest (NFL Football Operations) · Dynamic Kickoff Rule Explainer (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
Can the defense score on an extra point?
Yes. Since 2015, if the defense blocks a kick, intercepts a pass or recovers a fumble on a try and returns it to the other end zone, it scores 2 points.
Source: Trade press (CBS Sports): NFL one-point safety explained · link to this answer
Is a one-point safety real?
Yes, but it has never happened in the NFL. If a play during a try would normally be a safety, the rulebook gives the opponent 1 point.
Source: Trade press (CBS Sports): NFL one-point safety explained · link to this answer
What's a pick-six?
It's an interception (a defender catching a pass meant for the offense) that the defender runs back for a touchdown. It counts 6 points like any other touchdown, and the defense's team then attempts the try.
Source: Football Terms (NFL Football Operations) · NFL Video Rulebook: Scoring Plays (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
Who kicks off after a score?
After a touchdown (and its try) or a field goal, the scoring team kicks off to the other team. After a safety, the team that gave up the safety kicks from its own 20.
Source: Football Terms (NFL Football Operations) · NFL Rules Digest (NFL Football Operations) · Dynamic Kickoff Rule Explainer (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
Where does the ball go after a kickoff touchback in 2026?
Since 2025, a kickoff that reaches the end zone in the air or goes out the back is a touchback at the receiving team's 35-yard line. If the kick lands in the landing zone (goal line to the 20) and then rolls into the end zone and is downed, the ball goes to the 20.
Source: Dynamic Kickoff Rule Explainer (NFL Football Operations) · Looking at tweak to kickoff, other rules changes for 2025 season (NFL.com) · Featured Rules: 2025 rule changes (NFL Football Operations) · link to this answer
Did touchback spots change again for 2026?
Only in one case. When a penalty moves a kickoff up to the 50-yard line, a touchback now puts the ball at the receiving team's 20. The goal is to stop teams from purposely kicking out of bounds. Normal kickoffs still use the 35/20 spots.
Source: 2026 NFL Rulebook: index, 2026 rule changes and penalty tables (NFL Football Operations) · NFL announces new playing rules, bylaws, resolutions for 2026 (NFL.com) · Trade press (Sports Illustrated): Explaining five new NFL rules for 2026 · Trade press (Football Zebras): NFL owners approve rule changes for 2026 · link to this answer