What does offside mean? What is a flag? Super Bowl Rules Guide

It’s time for the big game, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Super Bowl is coming up this year audience of over 100 million. Along with these watchers will be die-hard football fans who haven’t missed a single day of the season and ranked first in their fantasy league. But there will also be many people who are not so sure about the ins and outs.

If you’re one of those people, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what you need to know:

When a coin toss is called, the winning team can choose whether they want to kick or receive the ball to start the game. Often, the winning team lets you pick the losing team.

If they defer that pick to the other team, it allows them to choose whether they want to punt or receive the ball at the start of the second half. Most teams want to get the ball early in the second half, so they let the opposing team choose who starts with the ball early in the game.

However, it didn’t always work that way. It wasn’t until 2008 that the NFL began allowing coin toss winners to defer their picks. Prior to this, winning coaches chose to receive the ball 99% of the time, according to ESPN. But after the rule change, most coaches are usually put off.

Yellow penalty flags are what officials use to indicate when a rule has been broken. If the referee sees an infringement, he throws the flag onto the field. Also sometimes used to indicate the place where a penalty kick was taken. Depending on the penalty, the game may be suspended or cancelled.

A player may be penalized for being offside if any part of his body is behind the line that separates the teams (where the soccer ball is) when play begins.

If a player is offside, his team receives a 5-yard penalty and the play is replayed unless the penalty is denied.

Sometimes you may hear the announcers call the offensive team having a “free play” after the flag has been thrown when someone is offside. This is because the referees often allow this play to continue after the penalty, and to make matters worse, the attacker has to repeat the drop after the penalty from 5 yards. But if they gain more than 5 yards on a penalized play, they can waive the penalty.

After each play, a 40-second timer starts to indicate when the next play is due. This is to keep the game moving quickly and prevent one team from stalling for too long when they have the ball. A delay of game penalty occurs when the attacker does not pick up the ball before the timer expires.

If a delay of game penalty is called, the responsible team loses five yards and the down is replayed.

A safe has two meanings in an NFL game. On the one hand, there are defensive players who are called safeties. On the other hand, it can mean a rare way to score points during the game.

When the defensive team takes the ball from an offensive player in the offensive team’s end zone, or when the offensive team commits a penalty while the ball is in their end zone, it is called a defense. In this case, they lose possession of the ball and the opposing team gets two points.

A sack is when a defender is tackled while holding the ball. If the quarterback is sacked, his team must start the next play from where they were sacked, adding the distance the team must cover to the next first down.

If an offensive player holds the football (and does not throw it) in the opposing team’s end zone, he scores six points. The seventh point is scored if the team succeeds in kicking the ball between the field goal posts from the 15-yard line after a touchdown.

After the touchdown, both teams line up for the extra point. The opposing team tries to block the ball before it can be kicked, while the attacking team tries to give their kicker as much time as they need to successfully score a point. But every now and then, the forward will opt for the two-point conversion. If they can get back into the end zone starting at the two yard line, their team gets an extra two points.

If a team manages to score a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion, it is called an octopus.

When the play begins, the defending team will attempt to sack the quarterback. In a standard play, there are four defenders on the line trying to get there, while others guard the players who run to make the catch.

A blitz is when more than four defenders rush down the line of scrimmage in an attempt to bring down the quarterback before he can make a throw or run with the ball. While this is an effective tactic, it is also a risky maneuver because it leaves room for the defender to throw the ball to someone unguarded further downfield.

In football, the team with the ball has four plays (called long plays) to advance the ball 10 yards. If they successfully move it 10 or more yards, the down resets to the 1. If the scoreboard reads, for example, “2nd and 8,” that means they’re on second down and have eight yards to reset.

If a team can’t go 10 yards on their first three downs, they have a pick. If they cannot clear the 10-yard threshold by the end of their fourth down, the other team gains possession of the ball where the fourth down ended.

So a team on their fourth down can either gamble on going over the line (which they often do when there is only a short distance to cover) or kick.