How to Score in Football

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

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Football is the most popular sport in America, drawing millions of spectators and viewers each game, every season. It is a complex game with lots of rules to keep the game both safe and exciting. It can be difficult to understand everything that happens from play to play, but knowing how to score in the game is easy. People who choose to play football--whether tackle, flag or two-hand touch--are going to need to know what to do to score. Read on to learn how to score in football.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Pads if Playing Tackle
Football
Football Field With End Zones
Other Players

Step1

Score a touchdown. This is the primary way to score in football. A touchdown is a goal in which a player takes the football over the final line of the field into the end zone. In official games, the end zone begins at the white marking at the point where the teams' logos are painted on the field. A touchdown can occur by passing it to a player in the end zone or by running into it. Touchdowns are worth six points.

Step2

Kick a field goal. A field goal is when one player, known as the kicker, is tasked with kicking the ball between the "uprights" of the goal post at the center of the end zone. If the ball misses to the left or the right, or if it sails underneath the uprights, then the field goal is missed and no points are earned. If the kick is "good," then the kicking team gains three points.

Step3

Kick an extra point after a touchdown. This is a chance at one extra point awarded to the team that has scored a touchdown. The kicker attempts to kick the ball through the uprights in the same manner as scoring a field goal.

Step4

Try for the two-point conversion. On a play in which you would be kicking for the extra point (after the touchdown), pass or run the ball into the end zone instead. If you succeed then you earn two points instead of just one for the extra point kick.

Step5

Get a "safety." A safety is a play in which you tackle an opposing player in your own end zone. Try to do this on a play in which you blitz the quarterback for the best chances of success.

Tips & Warnings

Try to get to play on an actual football field, or at least in a field that is big enough to offer a full 100 yards of space. This will make the game more authentic and show just how much effort it really takes to score.
Be careful if you are playing tackle football without pads. The risk of serious injury is very high, so it is advisable to play two-hand touch or flag football instead when not using pads.