Down (football)

In American and Canadian football, a down refers to a period in which a play transpires.

Related Topics:
American - Canadian football - Play

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Down is also an adjective to describe the condition of the player with possession of the ball after he has been tackled or is otherwise unable to advance the ball further on account of the play having ended (e.g., "He is down at the 34 yard line").

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It may also refer to the ball after it is made dead in one manner or another. The line of scrimmage for the next play will be determined by the position of the ball when it is downed.

Related Topics:
Dead - Line of scrimmage

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A down begins with a snap or kickoff or free kick, and ends when the ball or the player in possession of it is declared down by an official, a team scores, or the ball or player in possession of it leaves the field of play.

Related Topics:
Snap - Kickoff - Free kick

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Each possession begins with first down. The first down line is marked 10 yards downfield from the start of this possession. If the offensive team moves the ball past the first down line, they make a new first down. If they fail to do this after a specified number of downs (four in American play and three in Canadian play), the team is said to turn the ball over on downs, and possession of the ball reverts to the opposing team at the spot where the ball was downed at the end of the last down.

Related Topics:
Possession - First down line

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When the offensive team has not yet made a first down before reaching the final down, the team faces a last down situation (third down situation in Canadian play and fourth down situation in American play), where the team is forced to decide whether to either scrimmiage the ball in an attempt to pick up the first down, or alternatively to kick the ball (either by punting or making a field goal attempt). Kicking the ball is typically the safer solution, while scrimmaging may lead to a turnover on downs, potentially giving the ball over to the other team with good field position.

Related Topics:
Punting - Field goal - Field position

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Downing the player with possession of the ball is one way to end a play (other ways include the player with the ball going out of bounds, an incomplete pass, or a score). Usually a player is made down when he is tackled by the defense. If the offensive player is touching the ground with some part of his body other than his hands or feet, then he is down if any defensive player touches him.

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If recovering the ball in one's opponent's end zone (following a kick-off in American football, and following any kick into the end zone, except for successful field goals, in Canadian football), a player may down the ball by dropping to one knee (note that in Canadian play, doing so scores a single for the opposing team). A player in possession of the ball will down the ball if he fumbles it out of bounds. If a quarterback is running with the ball during his initial possession of the same play following the snap, he may down the ball by voluntarily sliding from his feet to a sitting or recumbent position - this is to protect he quarterback from injury; no other play may down the ball this way.

Related Topics:
End zone - Kick-off - Single - Fumble - Quarterback - Snap

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