If you are new to football, the scoreboard can seem confusing at first. A team might score six points, then one more point a few seconds later. Another drive may end with three points, while a rare play can produce two.
So, how does scoring work in American football? The basic system is easier to understand once you know the main ways points are awarded. A touchdown is worth six points, a field goal is worth three, a safety is normally worth two, and a team can add one or two points after a touchdown.
This guide explains each scoring method, when it happens, and how the different point values combine to create common football scores.
How Does Scoring Work in American Football?
The goal in American football is to finish the game with more points than the opposing team. Teams can score in several different ways:
- Touchdown: 6 points
- Extra point: 1 point
- Two-point conversion: 2 points
- Field goal: 3 points
- Safety: 2 points
Most points come from touchdowns and field goals. Extra points and two-point conversions happen immediately after touchdowns, while safeties are less common.
Because these scoring methods have different values, football scores often increase by combinations such as three, six, seven, or eight points.
For example, a team that scores a touchdown and successfully kicks an extra point adds seven points to its score. A touchdown followed by a successful two-point conversion produces eight points.
Touchdown: 6 Points
A touchdown is worth six points and is the highest-value standard scoring play in American football.
A touchdown occurs when a player establishes the football across the opponent’s goal line as required by the rules, or when an eligible player legally catches the ball in the opponent’s end zone. Touchdowns can also be scored by the defense after gaining possession of the ball.
The end zone is the scoring area at each end of the field.
A touchdown might happen when:
- A running back carries the ball across the goal line.
- A receiver catches a legal pass in the end zone.
- A receiver catches the ball before the end zone and runs across the goal line.
- A defender intercepts a pass and returns it to the opponent’s end zone.
- A player recovers a fumble and returns it for a touchdown.
For a beginner, the important number to remember is simple:
Touchdown = 6 points.
Example of a Touchdown
Suppose Team A begins with a score of 0.
Its quarterback throws a pass to a receiver, who catches the ball and runs into the end zone.
Team A now leads:
Team A 6, Team B 0
However, the scoring sequence is not finished yet. After a touchdown, Team A normally gets another opportunity to score.
What Happens After a Touchdown?
After scoring a touchdown, the team gets a special play called a try.
The scoring team normally chooses between:
- Kicking an extra point for one point.
- Running or passing for a two-point conversion.
The game clock does not run during the try. NFL rules award one point for a successful kick and two points for a successful touchdown-style run or pass on the try.
After the try is completed, play normally continues with a kickoff to the opposing team.
This is why you often see a team score six points for a touchdown and then quickly move to seven points after the extra point.
Extra Point: 1 Point
The extra point, sometimes called the PAT or point after touchdown, is a kick attempted after a touchdown.
The kicker tries to send the ball over the crossbar and between the goalposts. If the kick is successful, the team receives one additional point.
A touchdown followed by a successful extra point is therefore worth a total of:
6 + 1 = 7 points
This is one of the most common scoring sequences in football.
Extra-Point Example
Imagine the score is tied 10-10.
Team A scores a touchdown.
The score becomes:
Team A 16, Team B 10
Team A then successfully kicks the extra point.
The score becomes:
Team A 17, Team B 10
In the NFL, an extra-point kick is attempted with the ball snapped from the defensive team’s 15-yard line. The exact procedure and starting position can differ at other levels of football.
Two-Point Conversion: 2 Points
Instead of attempting the one-point kick, the scoring team can try a two-point conversion.
The offense runs a normal-looking offensive play and attempts to get the ball into the end zone again. If successful, the team receives two points.
A touchdown followed by a successful two-point conversion is worth:
6 + 2 = 8 points
In the NFL, a normal two-point attempt begins from the opponent’s 2-yard line.
Why Would a Team Attempt Two Points?
A two-point conversion offers a larger reward than an extra-point kick, but it is generally harder to complete.
Teams often choose it because the score of the game makes the additional point especially valuable.
For example, imagine Team A trails 21-13 and then scores a touchdown.
The score becomes:
Team B 21, Team A 19
Team A could kick an extra point and make the score 21-20. But if it successfully completes a two-point conversion, the score becomes 21-21.
Coaches therefore consider the score, time remaining, and game situation when deciding whether to attempt one or two points.
Field Goal: 3 Points
A field goal is worth three points.
A team scores a field goal by kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the uprights of the opponent’s goalposts. Under NFL rules, the entire ball must pass through the vertical plane of the goal.
Field goals are usually attempted when the offense is close enough to the opponent’s end zone for the kicker to have a realistic chance of making the kick but has not scored a touchdown.
They are especially common on fourth down.
Instead of risking a failed attempt to gain another first down, a team may decide to attempt a field goal and take three points.
Field-Goal Example
Suppose Team A reaches the opponent’s 25-yard line but cannot gain another first down.
The coach sends the field-goal unit onto the field.
The kicker makes the kick.
If the score was:
Team A 7, Team B 7
it becomes:
Team A 10, Team B 7
because the successful field goal adds three points.
After a successful field goal, the scoring team normally kicks off to the opponent.
Safety: 2 Points
A safety is normally worth two points and is one of the less common ways to score.
A safety generally occurs when the team possessing the ball causes the ball to become dead in its own end zone under circumstances defined by the rules. One straightforward example is a defender tackling the ball carrier in the ball carrier’s own end zone. Certain offensive penalties committed in the offense’s own end zone can also result in a safety.
Suppose Team A has the ball near its own goal line.
The quarterback takes the snap in the end zone, and a Team B defender tackles the quarterback there before the ball can be advanced out.
Team B receives two points.
If Team B previously had 14 points, the score becomes:
Team B 16, Team A 7
Unlike a touchdown or field goal, the team that scores a safety does not immediately kick the ball away in the usual manner. The team that gave up the safety must put the ball back into play with a free kick, allowing the team that scored the safety an opportunity to receive possession.
A Scoring Safety Is Not the Safety Position
Beginners sometimes hear the word safety used in two different ways.
A scoring safety is the two-point play described above.
A safety is also the name of a defensive player position.
Safeties are defensive backs who usually line up behind the main defensive front and help defend passes and running plays. The position itself has nothing to do with automatically scoring two points.
The same word simply has two different meanings in football.
Context usually makes the difference clear.
If someone says, “The quarterback was tackled in the end zone for a safety,” they are talking about the two-point score.
If someone says, “The safety intercepted the pass,” they are talking about a defensive player.
Common Football Scoring Combinations
Once you understand the individual point values, many football scores become easier to interpret.
A team can reach seven points with:
Touchdown + extra point = 7
A team can reach eight points with:
Touchdown + two-point conversion = 8
A team could reach nine points with:
Touchdown + field goal = 9
If the touchdown was followed by a successful extra point, the same touchdown-and-field-goal combination would produce:
7 + 3 = 10 points
A team could also score six points without scoring a touchdown by making two field goals:
3 + 3 = 6
That is why simply looking at a team’s score does not always tell you exactly how the points were produced.
Why Some Football Scores Look Unusual
Scores such as 7, 14, 21, and 28 are common because touchdowns followed by extra points produce seven points at a time.
But football can create many other totals.
For example:
- Three field goals produce 9 points.
- A touchdown and two-point conversion produce 8 points.
- Two touchdowns with extra points plus a field goal produce 17 points.
- A touchdown with an extra point plus a safety produces 9 points.
Safeties and missed extra points are major reasons a scoreboard may show an unfamiliar total.
For instance, if a team scores two touchdowns but misses one extra point, it could have 13 points instead of the more familiar 14.
Understanding how does scoring work in American football makes these scores much easier to decode while watching a game.
What Happens After a Field Goal?
After a successful field goal, the scoring team receives three points.
Play then normally restarts with a kickoff by the team that just scored. The opposing team receives the kick and begins its next possession.
A field goal does not include an extra-point attempt afterward.
Only a touchdown creates the normal opportunity for a one-point or two-point try.
So if a team scores a field goal, the scoreboard simply increases by three and the game moves on to the kickoff.
Can the Defense Score?
Yes.
A team’s defense can score a touchdown if it takes possession of the ball and carries it into the opponent’s end zone.
For example, a defensive player might intercept a quarterback’s pass and return it for a touchdown. This is often called a pick-six because the interception return produces six points.
A defense can also recover an opponent’s fumble and return it for a touchdown.
Defensive units can also produce safeties by trapping the offense in its own end zone.
In addition, NFL and college rules can allow the defense to score during certain conversion attempts after a touchdown if it gains possession and returns the ball to the opposite end zone. That is worth two points.
For a beginner, however, the main point is that scoring is not limited to the offense.
Do Scoring Rules Differ Between the NFL and College Football?
The basic point values are largely the same in traditional NFL and NCAA tackle football:
- Touchdown: 6
- Field goal: 3
- Safety: 2
- Successful kick after a touchdown: 1
- Successful two-point try: 2
However, the procedures used to attempt those scores can differ.
One important example involves tries after touchdowns. In the NFL, the standard kick try uses a snap from the 15-yard line, while the standard two-point attempt uses the 2-yard line.
Under NCAA rules, the try normally begins at the opponent’s 3-yard line, although the offense can select a spot on or behind that line within the permitted area.
Other details can also differ between the NFL, college football, high school football, and other versions of the sport.
For beginners, remembering the basic scoring values is enough to follow most games. The more detailed league rules become important only in specific situations.
How Is the Winner Determined?
The team with more points at the end of the game wins.
It does not matter how those points were scored.
For example, Team A might score three touchdowns with successful extra points for 21 points.
Team B might score two touchdowns with successful extra points and three field goals for 23 points.
Even though Team A scored more touchdowns, Team B wins because it finished with more total points:
Team B 23, Team A 21
Football strategy therefore involves more than simply trying to score touchdowns. Coaches constantly decide whether to pursue a touchdown, attempt a field goal, kick an extra point, or attempt a two-point conversion based on the score and situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Points Is a Touchdown Worth?
A touchdown is worth six points.
Afterward, the scoring team normally gets an opportunity to add one point with a kick or two points with a run or pass into the end zone.
How Many Points Is a Field Goal Worth?
A successful field goal is worth three points.
The kick must pass over the crossbar and between the uprights according to the applicable rules.
How Many Points Is an Extra Point Worth?
A successful extra-point kick after a touchdown is worth one point.
How Many Points Is a Two-Point Conversion Worth?
A successful two-point conversion is worth two points.
The scoring team attempts to reach the end zone again with a running or passing play instead of kicking the one-point extra point.
How Many Points Is a Safety Worth?
A normal scoring safety is worth two points.
It commonly occurs when the offense’s ball carrier is tackled in the offense’s own end zone.
Can a Team Score Eight Points on One Possession?
Yes. A touchdown is worth six points, and a successful two-point conversion adds two more.
That gives the team eight points during the scoring sequence.
Why Do Teams Usually Have Scores That Increase by Seven?
A touchdown followed by a successful extra point produces seven points.
Because that combination is common, scores such as 7, 14, 21, and 28 appear frequently.
Key Takeaways
Understanding how does scoring work in American football comes down to remembering a few basic values.
A touchdown is worth six points. After a touchdown, the scoring team can usually attempt a one-point extra kick or a two-point conversion. A successful field goal is worth three points, while a normal safety is worth two points.
Touchdowns followed by extra points make seven-point scoring sequences common, but field goals, two-point conversions, safeties, and missed kicks can create many different totals.
Once you recognize those scoring methods, the scoreboard becomes much easier to understand and you can follow one of the most important parts of an American football game from start to finish.