Football Terms

A reference guide to common American football terms. Whether you're a new fan learning the game or a seasoned viewer looking up an unfamiliar phrase, this glossary covers the essential vocabulary of the NFL and college football.

• Blitz A defensive strategy where extra players rush the quarterback beyond the standard four pass rushers.
• Audible (Football) An audible in football is when the quarterback changes the play at the line of scrimmage by calling out a new set of signals after reading the defense's formation.
• False Start A false start is a pre-snap penalty in football called when an offensive player makes a movement that simulates the start of a play before the ball is snapped, resulting in a 5-yard penalty.
• Field Goal A kick through the uprights worth three points, typically attempted on fourth down.
• Franchise Tag The franchise tag is an NFL roster designation that allows a team to retain a player set to become a free agent by guaranteeing them a one-year contract at a high salary based on position averages.
• Fumble When a ball carrier loses possession of the ball before being down, which can be recovered by either team.
• Hail Mary Pass A Hail Mary pass is a long, desperate forward pass thrown near the end of a game with little chance of success, typically used as a last-ditch effort to score a touchdown.
• Holding (Football) Holding is one of the most common penalties in football, called when a player illegally grabs or restrains an opponent who does not have the ball, resulting in a 10-yard penalty on offense or a 5-yard penalty on defense.
• Hurry-Up Offense The hurry-up offense is a fast-paced attack strategy where the offense rushes to the line and snaps the ball quickly after each play — either to conserve time at the end of a game or to prevent the defense from substituting and getting set.
• Interception When a defensive player catches a forward pass thrown by the quarterback, immediately giving the defense possession.
• Neutral Zone Infraction A neutral zone infraction is a pre-snap football penalty in which a defensive player enters the neutral zone (the space between the offensive and defensive lines at the line of scrimmage) before the snap and causes an offensive lineman to react.
• NFL Draft Pick An NFL draft pick is a selection slot in the annual NFL Draft, used by teams to choose eligible college and international players — and also traded as a form of currency between teams.
• NFL Salary Cap The NFL salary cap is the annual limit on the total amount each team can spend on player salaries, designed to promote competitive balance across the league.
• Nickel Defense The nickel defense is a defensive formation in football that uses five defensive backs instead of the standard four, adding an extra cornerback or safety to defend against pass-heavy offensive formations.
• Onside Kick An onside kick is a deliberate short kickoff that gives the kicking team a chance to recover the ball, typically used as a last-resort strategy when a team is losing late in the game.
• Overtime Shootout (Football) Overtime in football is an additional period played when a game is tied at the end of regulation, with different rules in the NFL, college football, and high school football to determine a winner.
• Pass Interference A penalty called when a defender illegally impedes a receiver's ability to catch a forward pass.
• Pass Rush A pass rush is a defensive effort to pressure, pursue, or sack the quarterback before he can throw or hand off the ball — typically executed by defensive linemen and linebackers using speed, technique, and leverage to defeat blockers.
• Play Clock The play clock is a countdown timer in football that limits how long the offense has to snap the ball between plays — 40 seconds from the end of the previous play in the NFL and NCAA, or 25 seconds from when the referee sets the ball.
• Play-Action Pass A play-action pass is a passing play that begins with a fake handoff to a running back — designed to freeze linebackers and safeties and create open downfield passing windows by making the defense think it is a run play.
• Prevent Defense The prevent defense is a late-game defensive strategy designed to stop long completions and touchdowns by dropping extra defensive backs into deep zones, accepting short gains in exchange for eliminating the big play.
• Punt A kick used to surrender the ball to the opposing team on fourth down, pushing them as far back as possible.
• Quarterback Rating Quarterback rating (passer rating) is a formula-based statistic that measures a quarterback's performance by combining completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, and interception percentage into a single number.
• Quarterback Sneak A quarterback sneak is a short-yardage football play in which the quarterback takes the snap and immediately dives forward into the offensive line without handing off, designed to gain a few inches to a yard in critical down-and-distance situations.
• Red Zone The area of the field between the opponent's 20-yard line and the goal line, where scoring opportunities are highest.
• Route Running Route running is the technique by which wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs create separation from defenders by executing precise patterns — combining footwork, body control, and deception to get open in the passing game.
• RPO (Run-Pass Option) A run-pass option (RPO) is a football play design in which the quarterback reads a defender post-snap and decides in real time whether to hand the ball off to a running back or keep it and throw a pass — forcing the defense to be wrong regardless of alignment.
• Sack When a defensive player tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage while they still have the ball.
• Safety (Football) A safety in football is a scoring play worth two points that occurs when a ball carrier is tackled in their own end zone, or when the offense commits certain penalties in the end zone.
• Screen Pass A screen pass is a short forward pass to a receiver behind the line of scrimmage who has blockers set up in front — designed to use the defense's aggressiveness against it by creating a convoy of blockers in open space.
• Snap The act of the center passing the ball to the quarterback to begin each play.
• Special Teams Special teams is the collective term for the units in football that take the field during kicking plays — including kickoffs, punts, field goals, extra points, and their returns — and is considered the third phase of the game alongside offense and defense.
• Spread Offense The spread offense is a modern offensive system that uses multiple wide receivers and empty or minimal backfields to spread defenders across the field and create one-on-one matchups.
• Tight End A tight end is a versatile offensive player who lines up on the line of scrimmage beside the offensive tackle, used both as a blocker and as a pass-catching receiver.
• Touchdown Scoring six points by carrying or catching the ball in the opposing team's end zone.
• Two-Minute Warning An automatic stoppage of play when two minutes remain in each half of an NFL game.
• Two-Point Conversion A two-point conversion is an optional play after a touchdown where the offense attempts to advance the ball into the end zone from the two-yard line to score two points instead of kicking the extra point.
• Wide Receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in football responsible for catching passes from the quarterback — lining up on the outside edges of the formation and using speed, route running, and hands to create separation and make catches downfield.
• Wildcat Formation The wildcat formation is an offensive football formation where a running back or wide receiver takes the snap directly instead of the quarterback, allowing the offense to create misdirection and run-blocking advantages.