American Football Basics

1. - Introduction

This document describes how to use the Genius Sports Live Viewer with NFL matches. It covers the basics of American Football, as well as how to understand and follow the information displayed in the Live Viewer. If you get stuck there is a F.A.Q and general comments section at the bottom.

2. - Flow of American Football

2.1 - Basics

The objective of an attacking team (the team in possession of the ball) is to score points by passing, carrying, or kicking the ball into the opponent’s end zone. The method of achieving this objective will depend on different circumstances: The current down, the current yard objective and the yards to go (to reach the opponent’s end zone). A team has 4 downs (4 attempts) to progress at least 10 yards. If they progress past these 10 yards, then they start from the 1st down again.

A drive is a series of plays that happen when a team has the possession of the ball until they score, they punt the ball or they lose the possession by any means. A play is each action of the game that follows a snap until the game stops.

2.2 - The Play

2.2.1 - Structure

During normal gameplay (see the list of actions below that do not follow standard procedures), the play follows a fairly standard structure. The attacking team will prepare its formation (if they were to kick, punt or attempt a field goal, the kicking team would be in the pitch), then they will snap (which starts the clock and the play) and then attempt to progress 10 yards. Passing the ball to an attacking player or attempting to rush are the two standard courses of action. The play ends when the ball is no longer in play. In example, following a tackle by the defending team that stopped the attack, the ball goes out of bounds or a team scores. After any of these actions and, depending on what happened, the new situation is updated (plays, yards to go, etc.)

2.2.2 - Other Type of Actions

These actions do not follow the standard gameplay flow. They usually involve a type of kick with the possession of the ball changing:

  • Punt

  • Kickoff

  • Field Goal (can be blocked)

2.2.3 - Current Down

Example: Down - 1st, 10 yards to go @47 yards; Yards to Endzone - 53 yards to go

This message shows what is the situation in the current down that is about to happen.

 

 

Field

Value

Description

Notes

Field

Value

Description

Notes

Down

1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th

The current down of the attacking team. They have 4 attempts to progress 10 yards.

When a team managed to progress the 10 yards, then the next down will be played from a situation of “1st&10“ (1st down, 10 yards to go).

Yards To Go

From 1 to 99 (most likely to be 1-15)

The yards that the attacking team need to progress in 4 downs in order to not lose the possession of the ball.

If the attacking team loses the ball behind the line of scrimmage (from which the play starts), then they need to progress this additional amount of yards. In example, if a quarterback got sacked (tackled before he could pass or rush), the down could potentially be “2nd down & 15 yards to go”.

Yards to End Line

1 to 50, then 50 to 1

The yards to the defending team’s end zone. The yards to end line start at 1 from the attacking team until reaching the middle of the pitch, at 50 yards, then they decrease until reaching 0 (which would be a touch down).

If the attacking team is at 1st&10, 44 to go on their own field, and then they progress 12 yards, then the down would also be 1st&10, 44 to go, but they would be on the opponent’s half of the pitch.

Yards to Endzone

109 to 1

The total number of yards that the attacking team has to progress to reach the defender’s endzone

If a team is in possession of the ball on their own side, at the 25th yard, the yards to endzone will then be 100-25 =75. The value of yards to end line and yards to endzone will be equal when the attacking team is in possession of the ball on the defending’s team side.

The extra 10 yards (from 99 to 109) are in the specific situation of the attacking team having the ball on their own endzone.

 

2.3 - Scoring

There are four ways to score points:

Scoring Type

Points

Description

Touchdown

6 points

Scored by crossing the end line with possession of the ball, plus other situations where the ball ends behind the end line

Field Goal

3 points

Scored by the kicking the ball through the vertical plane of the goal

Safety

1 or 2 points (mostly 2 points)

Scored by the attacking team committing a foul in their own end zone or by having a dead ball in their own end zone, leading to the defending team gaining 2 points

Try After Touchdown

1 or 2 points

Scored following a touchdown. The scoring team can choose to try to kick the ball through the vertical plane (1 point) or attempt to score following the same rules as a touchdown

2.4 - Kicks, punts, field goals

Depending on different circumstances, one team may kick or punt or attempt a field goal.

Type

Description

Kicks

Kicks are taken after a touchdown, a field goal or to start the 1st and 3rd quarters. It’s a free kick that can’t be blocked by the other team.

Punts

A kick made when a player drops the ball and kicks it while it falls toward his foot. A punt is usually made on a 4th down when the attacking team is giving up the possession of the ball as they couldn’t progress the 10 yards.

Field Goal

A type of scoring, a field goal is a kick worth 3 points. It is usually attempted within 40 yards of the goalpost.

3. - The Live Viewer

3.1 - The Summary

Data Point

Description

Notes

Down

Current down of the attacking team. Possible values: 1-4.

 

Yards To Go

The aim of the offense is to progress at least 10 yards in the play, leading to downs being reset to 1st down again. The Yards To Go field show how many yards are required to progress in the current down.

The values can go from 1 to 99, although they are going to be mostly 1-15. If a quarterback is sacked or the offense loses the ball behind the line of scrimmage, they will have to progress extra yards in the next down.

Yards to Endzone

The total number of yards that the attacking team has to progress to reach the defender’s endzone

Not to be confused with Yards to End Line, which take into consideration from which side of the pitch the attacking team is starting the play. This information is updated live.

Period & Time

Current period in the match and the time remaining for that quarter/period (starts at 15:00).

Currently the clock is not shown for games in PreMatch match status.

Quarter Scores and General Score

Score in every quarter and the overall score

 

Teams

The full names of the two teams participating in the match. [H] indicates home team, [A] indicates the away team.

The teams are situated in the traditional Home vs Away order.

A football icon is used to display which team is in possession of the ball

Timeouts

Situated below every Team name in any size

Timeous left per team per quarter

Feed Status

Situated below the period&time, a red dot this will indicate an issue with the feed. The options are:

  • Heartbeat lost - Connection to data provider was lost

  • Coverage Unavailable - Game will not covered by feed provider

  • Feed Unreliable - The data submitted is considered to be unreliable

A grey dot is displayed when the match has not started yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.2 - The Event Feed

3.2.1 - Description

The NFL feed follows a cyclical flow. The attacking team will start the play from a specific position in the pitch (Yards to Endzone) in a specific situation (Downs and Yards to Go). Then they will Snap, starting the play, try to progress with the ball with different courses of action (Attacking Team Action) and then, following this play, there will be an outcome, which will be the new Yards to Endzone and Play Situation.

As every yard counts, there will be constant updates to the Yards to Endzone and Yards to Go. There will also be updates to other important data points, like Attempted Pass and any data point that may affect the clock, like Snap. Therefore, the user can expect continuous modifications to the data points happening simultaneously with the ongoing play.

 

3.2.2 - The Flow

 

 

3.2.3 - Main Play Data Points

Step

Event

Description

Values

1

Current Yards to Endzone

The total number of yards that the attacking team has to progress to reach the defender’s endzone

Not to be confused with Yards to End Line, which take into consideration from which side of the pitch the attacking team is starting the plan. In example:

  • Down - 1st, 10 yards to go @ 25 yards

  • Yards to Endzone - 75 yards to go

This means that the attacking team is at the 25th yard mark on their own side of the pitch.

2

Play Situation

A summary of where in the pitch the play will start and the current down.

  • Downs: 1st-4th

  • Yards to go: 1-99 (1-15 being the most common)

  • Yards to End Line - Yards to the goal line, taking into account the pitch side (1-50, 50-1).

3

Snap

The play and clock starts when the offense snaps the ball.

Snap

4

Attacking Team Action

The action by the offense in order to progress forward or give up the possession of the ball as far away as possible from their own end zone. Passing and rushing are the most common actions.

Rush, Pass Attempt, Punt, etc. Passes can be completed, incompleted or intercepted.

5

Outcome (Current Yards to Endzone)

Same as step number 1.

Same as step number 1

 

 

3.2.4 - Risks

Risks are used when there is a chance of something altering the score or the outcome of the previous or next play happening.

Additionally to the Risks Widgets change colors based on the YardsToEndzone value for the team in Possession

  • RED - When YTE value is between 0 and 20 and when Data is not Reliable

  • AMBER - When YTE value is between 21 and 40

  • GREEN - When YTE value is above 40

  • WHITE - YTE value is not available

Risk Name

Description

Touchdown

There is a strong chance that a touchdown will occur.

Field Goal

The attacking team will attempt a field goal. If the attacking team is within 40 yards of the end line and on their 4th Down, they will probably attempt a field goal.

Safety

The attacking team are starting the play very close to their end zone, so they may lose the ball possession inside there or commit an infraction, leading to a 2-points scoring safety for the defending team.

Penalty

An official has tossed a yellow flag, so a penalty is possible for either team. This will potentially affect the next play.

Turnover

A change in ball possession may happen (in example, a pass is about to be intercepted).

Onside Kick

The team kicking is going to do it via an onside kick, attempting to regain the possession of the ball as soon as possible. Used scarcely, it has a low success rate, but it may be used if the kicking team is trailing by a significant amount of points.

Fourth Down

The attacking team is on their 4th down and they are going to attempt to score a touchdown. This is usually the case when they are trailing behind in the score and need to score a touchdown to maintain their chances to win the game.

Challenge

One of the teams is challenging a decision. The decision will be reviewed by the referees. If the original action stands, the challenging team loses a time out.

Video Review

Used when the referees are reviewing a situation that could change the outcome of a play that just happened or may greatly affect the next play. It's mutually exclusive from "Challenge" bet stop. "Challenge" is when a team requests video review, "Video Review" it's when the officials are doing it.

Disconnect

There are connection issues.

Other

Undefined type of risk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.2.5 - Modifications and Updates

Because a single yard can be the difference between a 4th down or a 1st & 10, constant modifications will be delivered. The modifications to the main actions will be updating:

  • The clock time

  • The yardage (Yards to Go, Yards to End Zone)

  • Whether an action is confirmed

  • Additional information

Modifications of same actions e.g down, pass are grouped and can be expanded by clicking on the row. Not all events are expandable, only those that have been modified at least once.

3.2.5.1 - The Modified, Confirmed and History Icons

 

Icon

Name

Function

 

Confirmed

This icon means that the action was confirmed

 

Modified

This icon means that the action was modified

 

History

This icon means that event can be expanded to see the phases it has been through

 

3.2.6 - Other Data Points

Data Point

Description

Extra Details

Clock

Used when the clock starts, stops or is modified

Clock Started, Clock Stopped

Pass

The quarterback attempted a pass

Pass Attempt, Pass Outcome (Incomplete, Complete, Intercepted, Unknown)

Conversions

Following a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a conversion

Conversion Attempt, Conversion Type (One Point, Two Points, Unknown)

Fair Catch

The defending team catches the ball following a kick by the other team

The team will will start their drive from where the ball was caught

Field Goals

The attacking team will attempt a field goal

Field Goal Attempt, IsMade (will be used when the attempt is successful)

Fumble

The team in possession of the ball drops it

 

Interception

The defending team intercepted a ball, causing the possession of the ball to change

 

Kickoff

A team kicks the ball to resume the game after a touchdown or to start the 1st or 3rd quarter

 

Safety

The attacking team dropped the ball on their own end zone or caused an infraction in the zone

One Point Safety, Safety (two points)

Penalty

One of both teams committed an infraction

The Down, Yards To Go and Yards to End Zone values may change following a penalty

Period

Period status

In Progress, Not Started, Complete, Period Changed

Punt

The attacking team gives up the possession of the ball via a punt

 

Return

The receiving team progressed after catching the ball following a punt or a kick

 

Rush

The attacking team attempted to progress via a rush

 

Sack

The quarterback was tackled before he could do a forward pass

The Yards To Go and Yards to End Zone values may change following a sack

Tackle

An attacking player was tackled by a defending player, ending the play

 

Timeout

A timeout is in progress

Teams may request a limited amount of timeouts. If they issue a challenge and lose it, they will also lose one timeout. When there are 2 minutes left in the 2nd and 4th quarter, there is a 2-minutes warning, in which the teams have a timeout that does not consume any of their timeouts

Touchback

The ball becomes dead behind a team’s own goal line

The team will restart the game from the 20th or 25th yard, depending the situation that led to the touchback

Touchdown

The team scored a touchdown

 

 

 

4. - Following the Game

4.1 - Play by Play

From the Down / Yards To Go / Yards to End Zone is possible to infer the outcome of the previous action. Understanding this will allow the user to understand the flow of the game, even without knowing the course of action of the attacking team, whether they decided to attempt a pass or to rush forward.

Play Situation

Interpretation

Down - 1st, 10 yards to go @45 yards

This is the initial situation for the attacking team in this example, 5 yards into the defending’s team side.

Down - 2nd, 10 yards to go @45 yards

The attacking team failed to advance, but didn’t lose the possession. An incomplete pass is a likely scenario here.

Down - 3rd, 4 yards to go @39 yards

On their 2nd down, the attacking team managed to progress 6 yards forward and now they have 2 more downs to progress at least 4 yards

Down 1st, 10 yards to go, @31 yards

On the 3rd down, the attacking team progressed 8 yards, progressing through the 10 required, resetting the amount of downs back to 1.

Down 1st, 10 yards to go, @8 yards

After a successful offense, the attacking team progressed 23 yards forward. They are now in a situation of 1st&goal, with fewer than 10 yards to reach the opponent’s goal line.

5. - Frequently Asked Questions and Additional Information

Question / Information

Answer / Description

Player-level information

Player information is available for supported actions

Clock is running during half-time

Indicating the time remaining till next quarter starts. Clock should be ignored unless periods are in progress

Yards in actions

Yards are populated for supported actions

Specific type of penalty

All Penalty types are supported