Points in a Football Game: How are 2, 6, or 3 Points Scored.
In Football, Points are scored as a Touchdown 6 points, a Field Goal 3 points, a Safety 2 points, or an Extra Point - 1 point.
What are the points scored in Football?
Touchdown - 6 points earned when the ball, in scoring team's control, crosses into the end zone, the 10 yards in front of the field goal posts.
Field Goal - 3 points earned when the placekicker kicks the football through the uprights and above the crossbar. The crossbar is 10 feet (3.0 m) high. The uprights are 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart and are at least 35 feet (11 m) high.
Safety - 2 points earned when the football is not advanced beyond the end zone. A safety happens when:
1. The quarterback is sacked in their own end zone.
2. The defense tackles the ball carrier in their end zone.
A football team can sometimes begin a drive down the field, in front of their own end zone. The defense can use this opportunity to score two points. And in a rare instances, near the end of the game, savvy teams may choose to take a safety, to have the opposing team start farther from the end zone.
Two point conversion - 2 points are earned by the offense after a touchdown by attempting a 2-point conversion - another football play to advance the ball into the endzone. The two-point conversion starts on the 2-yard-line in the NFL. While in the NCAA, the two-point conversion play starts from the 3-yard line.
Extra Point - 1 point is earned after a touchdown by the placekicker kicking the ball over the crossbar and through the uprights. In the NFL, an extra point play is started at the 15-yard line. A point after touchdown (PAT) is a 33-yard kick. In the NCAA, an extra point play is started at the 3-yard line.
Name | Points |
|---|---|
Touchdown | 6 |
Field Goal | 3 |
2-Point Conversion | 2 |
Safety | 2 |
Extra Point or Point After Touchdown (PAT) | 1 |
What are the most points scored in an NFL game?
113 points in a 1966 game between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Redskins won 72 to 41.
More recently, the top scoring game was 95 points between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams in 2019.
And the most points scored by a single NFL team?
The Wahington Redskins scored 72 points in the 1966 game above, the most points scored in nfl game by one team. More recently, in 2011, the New Orleans Saints scored 62 points against the Indianapolis Colts. The final score, 62-7.
What are the different final score combinations?
When placing a bet on the final score of a football game, a table of final score frequency is useful:
For more than 17,000 professional football games, the top ten final score occurrence is:
Final Scores, Number of Games
- 20-17 - 274 times.
- 27-24 - 224
- 17-14 - 198
- 23-20 - 193
- 24-17 - 170
- 13-10 - 166
- 24-21 - 156
- 16-13 - 141
- 17-10 - 141
- 24-14 - 139
Possible combinations to reach those final scores:
- 10 points - 1 touchdown, 1 field goal and 1 extra point (PAT) (7 + 3 points).
- 13 points - 1 touchdown, 1 extra point and 2 field goals (7 + 6 points)
- 14 points - 2 touchdowns with extra points (7 + 7 points)
- 16 points - 2 touchdowns, 1 extra point, 1 field goal (7 + 6 + 3 points)
- 17 points - 2 touchdowns with extra points and 1 field goal (7 + 7 + 3 points)
- 20 points - 2 touchdowns with extra points and 2 field goals (7 + 7 + 3 + 3 points)
- 23 points - 2 touchdowns with extra points and 3 field goals (7 + 7 + 3 + 3 + 3 points)
- 24 points - 3 touchdowns with extra points and 1 field goal (7 + 7 + 7 + 3 points)
- 27 points - 3 touchdowns with extra points and 2 field goals (7 + 7 + 7 + 3 + 3 points)
What are the final scores of the last 5 Super Bowls?
- 23-20 Los Angeles Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals a. 23 points - scored 3 touchdowns, 2 extra points and 1 field goal (7 + 6 + 3 + 7) b. 20 points - scored 2 touchdowns with extra points and 2 field goals (3 + 7 + 7 + 3)
- 31-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Kansas City Chiefs a. 31 points - scored 4 touchdowns with extra points and 1 field goal (7 x 4) + 3 b. 9 points - scored 3 field goals (3 + 3 + 3)
- 31-20 Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers a. 31 points scored 4 touchdowns with extra points and 1 field goal (7 x 4) + 3 b. 20 points scored 2 touchdowns with extra points and 2 field goals (7 + 7 + 3 + 3)
- 13-3 New England Patriots vs Los Angeles Rams a. 13 points scored 1 touchdown, 1 extra point and 2 field goals (7 + 3 + 3) b. 3 points scored with 1 field goal
- 41-33 Philadelphia Eagles vs New England Patriots a. 41 points scored 5 touchdowns, 3 field goals, 2 extra points (6 x 5) + 2 + 9 b. 33 points scored 4 touchdowns, 2 field goals, 3 extra points (6 x 4) + 6 + 3
References
Tips
- Making a safety or two-point conversion are the only plays that can result in exactly two points. A field goal is worth three points and a touchdown is worth six points, plus one for an extra point field goal kick or two for a two-point conversion.
Writer Bio
Lisa Carroll is a writer living and working in the Washington, D.C. area. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in 2005, she worked in publishing. Now, as a public relations professional, she writes on a daily basis. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Diplomat, The Prince George's Post and CUA Magazine.