139 Fun Facts About American Football

Which quarterback has won the most Super Bowl titles as a starter?

Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls, the last at age 43 with Tampa Bay, after lasting until the 199th pick of the 2000 draft.

What team won the first-ever Super Bowl in January 1967?

The Green Bay Packers beat Kansas City 35-10; CBS and NBC both televised the game, the only Super Bowl shown on two networks, and both later wiped their tapes.

Which wide receiver holds the NFL career record for most receiving yards?

Jerry Rice gained 22,895 receiving yards over 20 seasons; he traced his hands and work ethic to boyhood summers catching bricks for his bricklayer father.

What is the only team to complete a perfect season including a Super Bowl victory?

The 1972 Miami Dolphins finished 17-0 even though quarterback Bob Griese broke his ankle in Week 5; veteran backup Earl Morrall started the rest of the regular season.

How many points is a touchdown worth in American football?

A touchdown is worth 6 points, a value set in 1912; under the first scoring table of 1883 it counted for two, half as much as the kick that followed it.

Which head coach has won the most Super Bowls in NFL history?

Bill Belichick won six Super Bowls as a head coach; in 2000 he quit as New York Jets head coach after one day, scrawling on a sheet of paper that he was resigning as 'HC of the NYJ'.

Which rival league, launched in 1960, merged with the NFL in 1970 and supplied most of the new AFC?

The American Football League, started by owners the NFL had refused franchises, forced the merger by bidding up the price of college stars; its ten teams joined three NFL clubs in the AFC.

Which running back became the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, in 1973?

O.J. Simpson reached 2,003 yards by running for 200 against the Jets in the final game of 1973, breaking Jim Brown's record of 1,863; he remains the only man to do it in 14 games.

What is the name of the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl champion?

The Vince Lombardi Trophy, handcrafted by Tiffany & Co., goes to the Super Bowl winner; it took Lombardi's name after his death in 1970 and was first presented as such at Super Bowl V.

Which team lost Super Bowl LI to New England after leading 28-3?

The Atlanta Falcons led 28-3 in the third quarter; late on, a 12-yard sack and a holding penalty pushed them out of field-goal range, and New England won 34-28 in the first Super Bowl overtime.

What position does the player who snaps the ball to the quarterback play?

The center snaps the ball and, with the best view of the defense, usually makes the first call telling the other linemen how to adjust their blocking.

Which team lost four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991 to 1994?

The Buffalo Bills lost Super Bowls XXV to XXVIII; they reached the third only after backup Frank Reich wiped out a 35-3 playoff deficit against Houston, a 32-point comeback.

What nickname did the 1970s defensive line led by 'Mean' Joe Greene carry?

The Steel Curtain, Pittsburgh's front four of Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White, got its name, a pun on the Iron Curtain, from a 1971 radio contest.

Which team drafted Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft?

The Indianapolis Colts weighed Peyton Manning against Ryan Leaf right up to the draft; Leaf went second to San Diego and was released after three seasons with a 4-14 record as a starter.

Which areas stretch an NFL field from 100 yards between the goal lines to 120 yards overall?

The two end zones add 10 yards each; they were introduced in 1912, when the field of play itself was shortened from 110 yards to 100.

Which receiver nicknamed Megatron set the NFL single-season receiving-yards record with 1,964 in 2012?

Calvin Johnson caught 122 passes for 1,964 yards in 2012 for a Detroit team that finished 4-12, then walked away after the 2015 season while still one of the game's best receivers.

Which undrafted Patriots rookie intercepted Seattle at the goal line to seal Super Bowl XLIX?

Malcolm Butler, undrafted out of West Alabama, jumped the route at the goal line in the final seconds; Seattle, a yard from the lead, had chosen to pass instead of run.

Which 49ers coach built the West Coast offense and won three Super Bowls in the 1980s?

Bill Walsh worked out the short, precisely timed passing game as a Cincinnati Bengals assistant, so the 'West Coast' label, first applied to Don Coryell's Chargers, stuck to him by mistake.

Which two franchises were the first to win six Super Bowls each?

The Steelers and Patriots reached six titles in February 2009 and February 2019; Pittsburgh had needed four decades just to win a first playoff game, in 1972.

Which famous play decided the Steelers-Raiders 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff?

The Immaculate Reception saw Franco Harris scoop a deflected pass just above the turf and score with seconds left; whether the ball came off a Raider or a Steeler, which mattered then, is still argued.

Which American football rivalry between two colleges, first played in 1897, is known simply as The Game?

Michigan and Ohio State have met every year but one since 1918, traditionally on the final Saturday of the regular season. Ohio's 1835 border dispute with Michigan, the Toledo War, is sometimes cited as prehistory for the feud.

Which halftime performer famously had a wardrobe malfunction during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004?

Janet Jackson's costume was torn by Justin Timberlake in the show's final seconds; the FCC fined CBS $550,000, and a YouTube co-founder has said the hunt for the clip helped inspire the site.

After a safety gives the defense two points, what else does the scoring team receive?

Possession, via a free kick, follows the two points, yet a team guarding a late lead may give up a safety on purpose to burn the clock, as Baltimore did in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLVII.

Which NFL quarterback was known as The Sheriff and retired after winning Super Bowl 50?

Peyton Manning sat out the whole 2011 season with a severe neck injury, then came back to win Super Bowl 50 in the last game of his career.

Which city hosted the very first Super Bowl?

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted Super Bowl I in January 1967 with about 33,000 of its 94,000 seats unsold, after local papers attacked the $12 top ticket; it is the only Super Bowl not to sell out.

Which position lines up at the outer edge of the line of scrimmage, mainly to rush the quarterback?

The defensive end is named for the men at each end of the line; on offense the old 'ends' became today's tight ends and wide receivers, while the defensive name stuck.

Which Giants linebacker known as L.T. terrorized quarterbacks in the 1980s and won the 1986 MVP, a rarity for a defender?

Lawrence Taylor, the Giants' pass-rushing linebacker, was named 1986 NFL MVP, the first defender so honored since Alan Page in 1971; The Blind Side credits him with making left tackles premium linemen.

How many players from each team are on the field during a regular play in an NFL game?

Each team has 11 players on the field during a play, for a total of 22 players. Having 12 or more players on the field results in a penalty.

Which annual award goes to the most outstanding player in American college football?

The Heisman Trophy took its name in 1936 from John Heisman, the coach whose Georgia Tech team once beat Cumberland 222-0; its stiff-arming figure was modeled on NYU's Ed Smith.

Which franchise moved from St. Louis back to Los Angeles in 2016?

The Rams got the move approved by a 30-2 vote of NFL owners in January 2016, returning the league to Los Angeles after a 21-year absence.

What play in the final seconds decided Super Bowl XXV, won 20-19 by the New York Giants?

Scott Norwood's missed field goal attempt from 47 yards drifted wide right with seconds left; the Giants had kept the ball for 40 minutes 33 seconds to keep the league's top-scoring offense off the field.

Which NFL team is known as the Silver and Black?

The Raiders wore black and gold until Al Davis arrived as head coach and general manager in 1963 and switched the team to silver and black.

Which defensive statistic has the NFL credited to individual players only since 1982?

Sack totals were not credited to individual defenders until 1982, so Deacon Jones, who popularized the word, has no official figure; a researcher's count gives him 173.5.

Which running back set the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards as a rookie in November 2007?

Adrian Peterson had only 43 yards at halftime, with Minnesota trailing San Diego 14-7, then ran for 253 more in the second half of a 35-17 win.

Which team won back-to-back Super Bowls in February 2023 and February 2024?

The Kansas City Chiefs came from 24-14 down at halftime to beat Philadelphia 38-35, then beat San Francisco 25-22 in only the second Super Bowl to reach overtime.

What is the maximum number of downs a team gets to advance the ball 10 yards for a first down?

A team gets 4 downs to gain 10 yards; the original 1882 rule allowed three downs to make five yards, and the fourth down was added in 1912.

Which quarterback threw a touchdown pass in an NFL-record 54 straight games from 2009 to 2012?

Drew Brees broke a Johnny Unitas record that had stood for 52 years; his run ended in Atlanta in 2012 on a night when he threw no touchdowns and a career-high five interceptions.

Which former NFL quarterback famously guaranteed a victory before Super Bowl III and delivered?

Joe Namath of the New York Jets guaranteed victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts and backed it up with a 16-7 win in Super Bowl III in January 1969.

What nickname did the Seahawks' secondary of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor carry in the early 2010s?

The Legion of Boom met a Denver offense that had scored 606 points, the most in NFL history, and held it to eight in a 43-8 rout in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Which player holds the NFL career record for most rushing yards?

Emmitt Smith ran for 18,355 yards, overtaking Walter Payton's record; in the 1993 finale against the Giants he separated his shoulder before halftime and still piled up 229 total yards in an overtime win.

What nickname goes to the player chosen with the very last pick of each NFL Draft?

Mr. Irrelevant has been feted since 1976 with a week of parties in Newport Beach, California, and the Lowsman Trophy, a statuette of a player fumbling the ball.

Which coach led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories in the 1990s and was known for his hair?

Jimmy Johnson's first Cowboys team went 1-15 in 1989; that year he traded Herschel Walker to Minnesota for a haul of players and draft picks that built back-to-back champions.

What color flag does an NFL head coach throw onto the field to challenge an official's call?

Red is the color of the coach's challenge flag; until 2005 a coach could also signal a challenge with an electronic buzzer, and once the league dropped it the flag was the only way.

Which team ran Buddy Ryan's 46 Defense during its dominant 1985 season?

The Chicago Bears' 46 Defense took its name from the jersey number of safety Doug Plank, not from any alignment of linemen and linebackers; the 1985 team went 15-1 and won Super Bowl XX 46-10.

Which 49ers receiver made The Catch against Dallas in the 1981 NFC Championship game?

Dwight Clark was the second option: the play was drawn up for Freddie Solomon, who slipped on his route, and Clark's leaping catch won the game 28-27 and sent San Francisco to its first Super Bowl.

When the NFL added a 17th game for every team in 2021, what did it cut from four games to three?

The preseason lost a game per team to make room, and the longer season pushed Super Bowl LVI back a week to February 13, 2022, the latest date the game had been played.

Which Stanford quarterback did the Colts select first overall in the 2012 NFL Draft?

Andrew Luck made four Pro Bowls, then retired at 29 two weeks before the 2019 season, saying an unending cycle of injury and rehabilitation had worn him down.

What record did the 2007 Patriots set in the regular season before losing the Super Bowl?

The 2007 Patriots went 16-0, sealing it with a 38-35 win over the Giants in the final regular-season game, then lost the rematch 17-14 in the Super Bowl five weeks later.

Which Giants receiver pinned a pass against his helmet late in Super Bowl XLII to keep the winning drive alive?

David Tyree's Helmet Catch gained 32 yards on third down with 1:15 left; Plaxico Burress scored the winning touchdown four plays later, and Tyree never caught another pass in the NFL.

Which play did the NFL move five yards upfield in 2011 to cut down on high-speed collisions?

The kickoff went back to the 35-yard line in 2011, undoing a 1994 move to the 30, and touchbacks at once became far more common.

Which quarterback won three Super Bowl MVP awards with the 49ers?

Joe Montana won it in Super Bowls XVI, XIX and XXIV; in the one that got away, XXIII, he still marched the 49ers 92 yards to the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left.

Which quarterback became the first to throw for 5,000 yards in a season, in 1984?

Dan Marino threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns in 1984, only his second season, yet lost that season's Super Bowl to San Francisco and never played in another.

Which NFL franchise began in Chicago in 1898 and shared the city with the Bears until 1960?

The Arizona Cardinals owe their name to early owner Chris O'Brien, who bought faded maroon jerseys secondhand from the University of Chicago and declared the color 'cardinal red'.

Which defensive package brings in one extra defensive back in place of a linebacker?

Nickel, the five-cent coin, gives its name to a defense with five defensive backs; bring in a sixth and the package becomes a dime.

Which quarterback did the Dallas Cowboys select first overall in the 1989 NFL Draft?

Troy Aikman lost all 11 of his starts as a rookie in 1989 on a Dallas team that finished 1-15, then won three Super Bowls in four seasons.

Which scoring play is worth exactly three points?

A field goal counted for five points in 1883, more than a touchdown; it was cut to four in 1904 and to three in 1909.

Which running back retired in July 1999 with 15,269 career rushing yards, then second all-time?

Barry Sanders retired at 31 by faxing a statement to his hometown newspaper, the Wichita Eagle, the day before the Lions reported; he was 1,457 yards short of Walter Payton's then-record 16,726.

Which Seahawks running back's 67-yard touchdown run in January 2011 registered on a seismograph?

Marshawn Lynch's 67-yard touchdown run in Seattle's January 2011 wild-card upset of New Orleans shook a nearby seismometer, earning the play the name 'Beast Quake'.

Who bought the Dallas Cowboys in February 1989 and promptly fired head coach Tom Landry?

Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys from Bum Bright for roughly $140 million in February 1989 and dismissed Tom Landry, the only head coach the franchise had ever had.

Which pass rusher retired in 2003 as the NFL's career sacks leader with 200?

Bruce Smith passed Reggie White's 198 in Week 14 of his final season by bringing down Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer, and finished with exactly 200, the only man to reach that mark.

Which NFL stadium is nicknamed the Frozen Tundra?

Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers' home since 1957, earned the Frozen Tundra nickname after the bitterly cold 1967 NFL Championship Game, the Ice Bowl.

Which quarterback, the expansion Houston Texans' first draft pick, was sacked a record 76 times as a rookie in 2002?

David Carr began by leading the Texans past Dallas 19-10 in their first game ever, only the second expansion team to win its opener, then took a season-record 76 sacks.

Which two colleges played the first American football game on November 6, 1869?

Rutgers and Princeton fielded 25 players each under rules that banned carrying or throwing the ball, so the 6-4 Rutgers win looked far more like soccer than football.

Which Yale figure, known as the 'Father of American Football', replaced rugby's scrum with the line of scrimmage?

Walter Camp persuaded the rules convention to swap rugby's contested scrum for a line of scrimmage with one team in clear possession, the change that split American football from rugby.

Which US president called college football's leaders to the White House to demand a safer game?

Theodore Roosevelt met men from Harvard, Yale and Princeton in October 1905, amid alarm over deaths on the field; a fan whose son played for Harvard's freshmen, he wanted the game reformed, not banned.

The league that became the NFL was founded in 1920 in Ralph Hay's car showroom in which Ohio city?

Canton's Ralph Hay sold Hupmobiles, and his office was too small for the ten teams that came, so owners sat on the cars' running boards; the city later won the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Which famous athlete was named the first president of the league that became the NFL in 1920?

Jim Thorpe, the 1912 Olympic decathlon and pentathlon champion, was picked for the publicity his name brought rather than for administrative skill, and he was replaced after a year.

The NFL was formed in 1920 under what name, which it kept until 1922?

The American Professional Football Association set a $100 membership fee, though George Halas later said no money ever changed hands; his Decatur Staleys became the Chicago Bears.

Which Steelers running back was nicknamed The Bus?

Jerome Bettis earned the name with his bruising style, then retired right after winning Super Bowl XL in Detroit, the city where he was born and raised.

Which kicker set the NFL record with a 68-yard field goal in November 2025?

Cam Little hit the 68-yarder for Jacksonville at Las Vegas, beating Justin Tucker's 66 from 2021; that summer he had made a 70-yarder in an exhibition that did not count toward the record.

NBC cut away from the end of a 1968 Jets–Raiders thriller to start which film on schedule?

Heidi, a 1968 TV film about a Swiss orphan, started on schedule at 7 p.m. Eastern; the Raiders scored two touchdowns in the final minute while viewers missed it, and NBC's president apologized.

Which Titans tight end threw the lateral that began the 2000 Music City Miracle?

Frank Wycheck took Lorenzo Neal's handoff and threw the lateral across the field to Kevin Dyson on the rehearsed Home Run Throwback play; Dyson ran 75 yards for the winning score.

Which venue hosted the 1958 title game known as the Greatest Game Ever Played?

Yankee Stadium hosted the Colts' 23-17 win over the Giants on December 28, 1958, the first NFL title game to reach sudden-death overtime; Alan Ameche ended it with a one-yard touchdown run.

Tom Dempsey kicked his then-record 63-yard field goal in 1970 for which team?

Dempsey kicked the 63-yarder as time expired to give the New Orleans Saints a 19-17 win over Detroit; born without toes on his kicking foot, he wore a special shoe, and the record stood for 43 years.

Which running back ran for 2,105 yards in 1984, a single-season NFL record?

Eric Dickerson's 1984 total survived a close call in 2024, when Saquon Barkley reached 2,005 yards and was rested for the final game, 101 short of breaking it.

Which head coach retired after the 1995 season with an NFL-record 347 career wins?

Don Shula was the losing coach of the heavily favored Colts in Super Bowl III, then won two Super Bowls with Miami and passed George Halas's 324 victories on the way to 347.

Which quarterback led the 98-yard series known as The Drive in January 1987?

John Elway marched Denver 98 yards in 15 plays at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to tie the AFC Championship Game 20-20 in the final minute; the Broncos won 23-20 in overtime.

Which play did college football's rule-makers legalize in 1906 to make a brutal game safer?

The forward pass became legal in April 1906; reformers hoped that opening up the game would end the mass plays at the line that were blamed for so many injuries.

Which rule did the NFL adopt in 1994, 36 years after college football introduced it?

The two-point conversion arrived in the NFL in 1994; Browns punter Tom Tupa scored the first on a faked kick in Week 1, added two more that season and became 'Two Point Tupa'.

Which Cowboys quarterback popularized the term Hail Mary after a 1975 playoff win?

Roger Staubach, a devout Catholic, said he closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary on his 50-yard winning throw to Drew Pearson against the Vikings on December 28, 1975.

Lamar Hunt said his coinage 'Super Bowl' probably came from a bouncy toy made by which company?

Hunt's children played with Wham-O's Super Ball, a high-bounce rubber toy launched in 1965; he floated 'Super Bowl' in a 1966 letter to Pete Rozelle as a kidding suggestion.

Which city's NFL team lost the 1940 championship game 73-0, the most lopsided result in league history?

Washington had beaten Chicago 7-3 three weeks earlier, and owner George Preston Marshall called the Bears crybabies; George Halas showed his players the clippings, and they scored eleven touchdowns.

Which Raiders cornerback forced the disputed fumble in the 2001 Tuck Rule Game?

Charles Woodson's blitz knocked the ball from Tom Brady; the fumble was overturned to an incomplete pass under the tuck rule, New England won 16-13 in the snow, and the rule was scrapped in 2013.

Which Vikings receiver scored the walk-off Minneapolis Miracle touchdown in January 2018?

Stefon Diggs caught Case Keenum's 27-yard throw and, after Saints safety Marcus Williams missed the tackle, finished a 61-yard touchdown as time expired to beat New Orleans 29-24.

Which NFL team began its Thanksgiving Day home-game tradition in 1934?

Detroit Lions owner George A. Richards started the Thanksgiving home game in 1934 to draw fans to the franchise he had just moved from Portsmouth, Ohio; the Lions skipped the holiday only from 1939 to 1944.

Which Cardinals safety left the NFL in 2002 to join the Army Rangers?

Pat Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6 million Cardinals contract after the September 11 attacks, enlisted in May 2002, and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April 2004.

Which Bears running back was nicknamed Sweetness?

Walter Payton picked up the Sweetness nickname in college at Jackson State; in 1977, weakened by flu, he ran for a then-record 275 yards against Minnesota.

Who was the first player ever selected in an NFL draft, in 1936?

Jay Berwanger, the inaugural Heisman winner, was taken first by the Eagles in 1936; his rights went to the Bears, but he never played pro football and went into rubber sales instead.

Which Eagles quarterback caught a touchdown pass on the 'Philly Special' in Super Bowl LII?

Nick Foles suggested the trick play himself during a timeout on fourth-and-goal, then became the first player to both throw and catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl.

Which quarterback stocked shelves at an Iowa supermarket for $5.50 an hour before winning a Super Bowl with the Rams?

Kurt Warner, cut by Green Bay in 1994, worked nights at a Hy-Vee, played Arena football for the Iowa Barnstormers and, five years on, was MVP of both the league and Super Bowl XXXIV.

Which quarterback holds the NFL record of 297 consecutive regular-season starts?

Brett Favre's streak ran from September 1992 to December 2010; it survived the death of his father in 2003, when he played the next night and threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns.

Who is the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series?

Deion Sanders hit .533 for Atlanta in the 1992 World Series and later won two Super Bowls; that October he played an NFL game in Miami, then flew to join the Braves for a playoff game the same night.

Jim Brown retired in 1966 while filming which movie in England?

Jim Brown, 30 and the reigning league MVP, quit from the English set of The Dirty Dozen in July 1966 after Browns owner Art Modell threatened to fine him for reporting late.

Jerry Rice played college football at which small historically Black university?

At Mississippi Valley State, Jerry Rice thrived in coach Archie 'Gunslinger' Cooley's no-huddle Satellite Express attack; the stadium there now carries his name and quarterback Willie Totten's.

Who kicked the winning field goal in the NFL's longest game, a double-overtime playoff on Christmas Day 1971?

Garo Yepremian's 37-yarder won it for Miami after 82 minutes 40 seconds; Kansas City's Jan Stenerud had missed from 31 yards late in regulation and had another kick blocked in overtime.

Which gamble did Saints coach Sean Payton spring on the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV while trailing 10-6?

The onside kick opened the second half: Thomas Morstead's kick was recovered by New Orleans, which scored on that drive to take its first lead and went on to win 31-17.

Who was named MVP of the first two Super Bowls?

Bart Starr was a 17th-round draft pick whose future was still in doubt three years later; he also scored the winning quarterback sneak in the Ice Bowl two weeks before Super Bowl II.

Which NFL franchise was dubbed America's Team by an NFL Films editor?

The Dallas Cowboys got the name from NFL Films' Bob Ryan, who wrote it into their 1978 highlight film after noticing Cowboys jerseys and pennants in the stands wherever the team played.

Which Packers safety performed the first Lambeau Leap in December 1993?

LeRoy Butler took a lateral from Reggie White and scored against the Raiders, then jumped into the bleachers; Robert Brooks later made the leap a habit.

Which blocker protects a right-handed quarterback's blind side, the job behind the film The Blind Side?

Left tackle usually goes to the best blocker on the offensive line, because a right-handed passer turns his back to that side and cannot see a rusher coming.

In the shorthand that gives each linebacker a first name, which name belongs to the middle linebacker?

Mike is the middle linebacker, Sam plays the strong side and Will the weak side, so each first name shares its opening letter with the job.

A football lineman crouched before the snap with one hand on the ground is in which stance?

Three-point means two feet and one hand on the turf; Pop Warner introduced the crouch after noticing how fast sprinters got away with their hands on the ground.

A football player who lines up on both offense and defense is known as what kind of player?

Two-way players were the norm under the old one-platoon system; today the fear of injury through overuse makes them a rarity in the NFL.

Which backfield position did rushing great Jim Brown play, a job that today means mostly lead blocking?

Fullback faded so far in the 2010s that many NFL teams phased the position out of their offenses entirely.

Which specialist's job is to fire the ball back between his legs on punts and place kicks?

Long snapper is a full-time job: he fires the ball about 15 yards back on a punt, then has to block and run downfield to help cover the kick.

Which unit of an American football team takes the field only for kicking plays such as punts and kickoffs?

Special teams became the third of a team's platoons, beside offense and defense, once unlimited substitution let coaches change all eleven players between plays.

Which of a defense's two deepest backs is traditionally the bigger, playing nearer the line to stop the run?

Strong safety takes its name from the offense's strong side, the side where the tight end lines up, which is where this defender adds muscle against the run.

A receiver who lines up between the offensive line and the widest receiver is said to be in which spot?

The slot became a fixture once NFL teams made three- and four-receiver sets their default in the late 2010s, turning the cornerback who covers it into a de facto starter.

Which two blockers start either side of the man over the ball and often pull out to lead a run?

Guards do most of the pulling because the tackles outside them stand too far away to swing across the formation in time.

What name is given to a football team's ranked list of starters and backups at every position?

Depth chart puts the starter on top with the backups below, and it is often drawn to mirror where each man actually lines up on the field.

When football positions were first named, what did the quarter and half in quarterback and halfback describe?

Distance behind the line named the old backs: the quarterback began a quarter of the way back, and the two halfbacks stood side by side halfway back.

Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends, who normally handle the ball, share which collective label?

Skill positions are set against the linemen, who are cast as relying on power; the men who play them are usually smaller but have to be faster.

Which US coin gives its name to the sixth defensive back a team sends on in obvious passing situations?

Dime is a small-change pun that climbs a coin with each extra defensive back, and playbooks go on to list quarter and half-dollar packages.

A defense's linemen and linebackers, as opposed to the backs behind them, are together known by which name?

Front seven fits either common split of the group: four linemen with three linebackers, or three linemen with four linebackers.

Which defender lines up directly across the ball from the offense in a 3–4 defense, usually the roster's biggest man?

Nose tackle is named for setting up almost nose to nose with the man snapping the ball, where two or even three blockers routinely gang up on him.

Ray Guy was the first player voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame purely as which kind of specialist?

Punter finally joined the roll in Canton in 2014 with Ray Guy, who told the crowd that the Hall of Fame at last had a complete team.

On punt coverage, which player lines up wide and sprints down the sideline to tackle the returner?

Gunner is so specialised that Steve Tasker, listed as a wide receiver, made seven Pro Bowls mostly for racing downfield on punts and kickoffs.

Which old name fits a wide receiver who sets up a step off the line, counting as one of the four backs?

Flanker began as a running back moved out to the flank, where standing off the line made him harder to jam and free to go in motion before the snap.

Which hybrid position did Joe Gibbs make famous in Washington, a tight end stationed off the line among the backs?

H-back was Gibbs's answer to one dominant Giants linebacker: an extra blocker placed near the line whose job was to help slow him down.

In which formation, named by 49ers coach Red Hickey, does the quarterback stand five to seven yards behind the line?

Shotgun gives the passer a better view of the defense and his blockers more room to work, and some teams now use it as their base set.

Which type of pass begins with the quarterback faking a handoff so that defenders step up to stop a run?

Play-action pulls linebackers toward the line to meet the fake run, which gives receivers more time and room to get open behind them.

What is the name for a quarterback deliberately throwing the ball into the ground to stop the clock?

Spike counts as an incomplete pass, so it stops the clock at the cost of a down, and it is legal only when thrown immediately after the snap.

Which lineup, adopted across football after the 1978 Miracle at the Meadowlands, has the quarterback just take a knee?

Victory formation caught on after the Giants, needing only to run out the clock, fumbled a handoff and saw Philadelphia return it for the winning touchdown.

Which short-yardage play has teammates shove the quarterback forward from behind, and survived a 2025 vote to ban it?

Tush Push, also called the Brotherly Shove, was popularised by Philadelphia, and the 2025 bid to outlaw it fell two votes short of the 24 it needed.

Which trick play had quarterback Nick Foles catch a touchdown pass on fourth down in Super Bowl LII?

Philly Special made Nick Foles the first player to both throw and catch a touchdown pass in the same Super Bowl.

In which trick play does a runner take a handoff, then toss the ball back to the quarterback for a deep pass?

Flea flicker is credited to Illinois coach Bob Zuppke, whose team first sprang it on Penn in 1925 with Red Grange among the ball handlers.

What is the term for a quarterback changing the called play at the line after seeing how the defense is set?

Audible changes are a quarterback's answer to a defensive look he dislikes: he calls the new play aloud at the line, moments before the snap.

Which term describes a formation that leaves the quarterback alone behind the line, with no running back beside him?

Empty backfield is also known as five-wide, because every back moves up near the line to act as an extra receiver or tight end.

In modern football playbooks, what do the letters RPO stand for?

Run-pass option differs from the older read option in its second choice: rather than keeping the ball to run, the quarterback can throw to a receiver.

Which running play is disguised as a pass, with the quarterback dropping back before slipping the ball to a runner?

Draw takes its name from luring pass rushers upfield toward the quarterback, which opens gaps for the runner to slip through.

On which deceptive throw do the offensive linemen release downfield to form a wall in front of a short catch?

Screen pass calls punish a hard rush: the more defenders chase the quarterback, the fewer are left behind them to stop the catch.

Boise State won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl with which trick play, a fake throw and a handoff behind the quarterback's back?

Statue of Liberty is named for the quarterback's pose, one arm raised as if to throw while his other hand slips the ball to a runner behind his back.

In which trick play does the quarterback deliberately leave the ball on the turf for a lineman to pick up and run?

Fumblerooski gave Nebraska a touchdown in the 1984 Orange Bowl, and college football outlawed the original version after the 1992 season.

On which play does the quarterback fake a handoff, then run toward the sideline hiding the ball against his thigh?

Bootleg takes its name from the way the ball is hidden against the thigh, and when no blocker goes along it is called a naked bootleg.

Which formation, popularised at Nevada by Chris Ault, puts the quarterback four yards deep with a runner behind him?

Pistol is a compromise: the quarterback stands close enough to read the defense as he would at the line, but far enough back for extra time and a better view.

Which three-back formation, unveiled by Texas in 1968, is named for the shape its runners make behind the quarterback?

Wishbone got its name when a Houston sportswriter said the new backfield looked like a pulley bone and Texas coach Darrell Royal preferred the more familiar word.

In which formation, used by the 2008 Miami Dolphins to stun New England, is the ball snapped directly to a running back?

Wildcat sprang a 38–13 upset of New England in September 2008 and set off a trend across the NFL, though defenses soon learned to stop it.

Doug Flutie in 2006 scored the NFL's first point since 1941 by which method, booting the ball just as it bounced?

Drop kick attempts became all but obsolete after 1934, when the ball was made more pointed to help passers and stopped bouncing up reliably.

Which style of offense skips the usual gathering between plays so the defense has no time to substitute or regroup?

No-huddle offense was first used as a team's normal attack by the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals, and it wore defenses down by denying them fresh players.