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Step 1
Notice that the American football field is marked frequently with a line across the field. Every 10 yards you see a number and an arrow that points to the end zone from which the measurement is started. The end zones are the ends of the field that are 10 yards deep and run the width of the field. Each end zone contains a goalpost and is the only area on the football field where you can score points.
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Step 2
Score points in football when you carry, catch or kick the football into the end zone. If you have possession of the football when you enter your opponents' end zone, you earn your team six points. This is called a touchdown.
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Step 3
Follow a touchdown with a kick of the ball between the two upright poles of the goalpost to earn another point. If you carry the football back into the end zone immediately following a touchdown, you earn two points, for a total of eight.
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Step 4
Start each half of an American football game with a kickoff. Flip a coin to determine who kicks and who receives. After the kick, if your receiving team doesn't make a touchdown after the catch, you have four chances to move the ball 10 yards closer to the end zone.
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Step 5
Place the ball on the field where you stopped with it after the kickoff. You now have a first down, with 10 yards to gain before you get another first down. If you don't gain 10 yards on this play, you then have second down. If you move the ball three yards toward the end zone on first and ten (first down, 10 yards to go), for example, you start your second down with seven yards to go.
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Step 6
Continue to move the ball toward the end zone through the third down. If you're unable to make a first down by the time you get to the fourth down, you can either make one final attempt or you can punt. A punt is a kick of the football that starts the other team farther from your end zone. If you attempt to convert your fourth down to a first down and fail, the other team starts with a first down at your last location on the field.
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Step 7
Defend against the other team when you stop them from getting a first down. Keep them away from your end zone and unable to score or to gain the advantage. You allow them to attempt to kick a field goal when they have fourth down close to your end zone. This is just like the extra point kick after the touchdown but it's made at fourth down in place of a punt and gives the team three points instead of just one.
