Convert
Encyclopedia
The convert or try, in American football
known as "point after", and Canadian football
"Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights (in the manner of a field goal), or two points by run or pass (in the manner of a touchdown
). The play may also be referred to as a conversion, try-for-point, extra point, (sometimes abbreviated as PAT), or point after (sometimes abbreviated as PTA).
If the convert is attempted by kicking the ball through the uprights, the team gets an additional one point for their touchdown
, bringing their total for that score from six points to seven. If two extra points are needed or desired, a two-point conversion
try may be attempted by running or passing from scrimmage. A successful touchdown conversion brings the score's total to eight.
Whether a team goes for one or two points, most rules regarding scrimmage downs, including scoring touchdowns and field goals, apply as if it were a normal fourth down play. Exceptions, including cases where the defense forces a turnover during a conversion attempt, vary between leagues and levels of play.
roots. In its earliest days, scoring a touchdown was not the primary objective but a means of getting a free kick at the goal (hence why the name "try," more commonly associated with rugby
today, is still in American football rule books), and thus early scoring rubrics for the game gave more points to the subsequent kick than the actual advancement of the ball into the end zone. The related term "conversion" is still used in both rugby union and rugby league to refer to extra points scored by kicking the ball through the posts after a try has been scored.
By the start of the 20th century, touchdowns had become more important and the roles of touchdown and kick were reversed. By this time the point value for the after-touchdown kick had reduced to its current one-point value while the touchdown was now worth five. (This later increased to six points in American football in 1912 and in Canadian football in 1956.)
In 2011, New England Patriots
head coach Bill Belichick
suggested that the standard extra point be eliminated in favor of teams either automatically taking seven points for a touchdown or taking six with a chance for a two-point conversion
, due to the relative ease of the extra point being made.
Even in the rare instances that the placekicker
misses the extra point, the missed point has generally not influenced the outcome of games. Perhaps the most famous exception to this was the 2003 game between the New Orleans Saints
and Jacksonville Jaguars
where, after scoring a touchdown as time expired as a result of the multiple-lateral
River City Relay
, Saints kicker John Carney missed the extra point, giving the Jaguars a 20-19 victory and eliminating the Saints from playoff contention. A 2005 game between the Green Bay Packers
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
is another notable exception, as the Buccaneers won 17-16, the difference being Ryan Longwell
missing an extra point after a Packers touchdown.
and American college football, the play continues until the ball is otherwise dead. This allows the defense to recover the ball to return it to the opponent's end zone for two points. Two states, Texas
and Massachusetts
, play high school football under NCAA rules and thus allow the defense to score on an extra point attempt.
, the scrimmage for point after attempt takes place from the two-yard line. In American high school and college football, it is from the three-yard line. In Canadian football it is from the five-yard line. The game clock does not run during an extra-point attempt, except for some rare circumstances at the high-school level (some state associations allow for the clock to run continuously in the second half if one team is leading the other by a large margin) and for arena football
, which runs a continuous running clock except during the final minute of each half.
In the NFL, the attempt for extra point(s) is required after a touchdown scored during the regulation game (i.e., not overtime), because points are used for some tiebreakers in the standings. Rarely, this can result in such an attempt having to be made at the end of the game when it cannot change the outcome of the game.
If the game is in sudden death overtime, the extra-point attempt is omitted if the winning score is a touchdown. In American high school and college football, it's likewise omitted following a touchdown on the game's final play if six points were enough to win or if the scoring team was already ahead or can not win or tie the game with a successful conversion attempt.
There is, however, one notable exception in college football because the defense can also score two points on a return of a conversion try (and theoretically score a one-point safety
) and the NCAA rules state that the conversion try must be run if any scoring in it could impact the outcome of the game. Therefore, if a team scores to take the lead by one or two points as time expires, they must still attempt the conversion, although most teams will simply opt to take a knee to prevent the risk of the defense scoring. For example, on October 24, 2008, Iowa
scored as time expired to take a 15-13 lead over Michigan State
. Making the conversion would have made no difference in Iowa winning the game, but Iowa still had to attempt it, so Ricky Stanzi
simply knelt down, as a return by Michigan State would have tied the game and forced overtime.
and NFL
eliminated the extra-point kick for interleague preseason games, only allowing one-point scrimmage plays. The World Football League
and XFL
did the same in their short lives, though the XFL later implemented a variable system that allowed increasing point values for increasing the distance to the end zone on the attempt for its playoffs; said system was later adopted by the Stars Football League
and, in a reduced form, the Lingerie Football League
. In arena football
, two points can also be scored by means of a drop-kicked
field goal. Some youth football leagues turn the scoring upside-down to an extent, scoring one point for a running touchdown and two points for either of a passing touchdown or field goal; six-man football
follows a similar convention that rewards one point for a pass or run and two points for a kick.
American football rules
Game play in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is dead or not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage—passes, runs, punts, or field goal attempts—or free kicks such as kickoffs...
known as "point after", and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
"Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights (in the manner of a field goal), or two points by run or pass (in the manner of a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
). The play may also be referred to as a conversion, try-for-point, extra point, (sometimes abbreviated as PAT), or point after (sometimes abbreviated as PTA).
If the convert is attempted by kicking the ball through the uprights, the team gets an additional one point for their touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
, bringing their total for that score from six points to seven. If two extra points are needed or desired, a two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
try may be attempted by running or passing from scrimmage. A successful touchdown conversion brings the score's total to eight.
Whether a team goes for one or two points, most rules regarding scrimmage downs, including scoring touchdowns and field goals, apply as if it were a normal fourth down play. Exceptions, including cases where the defense forces a turnover during a conversion attempt, vary between leagues and levels of play.
History
The extra point is among the oldest parts of the game of gridiron football and dates to its rugbyRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
roots. In its earliest days, scoring a touchdown was not the primary objective but a means of getting a free kick at the goal (hence why the name "try," more commonly associated with rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
today, is still in American football rule books), and thus early scoring rubrics for the game gave more points to the subsequent kick than the actual advancement of the ball into the end zone. The related term "conversion" is still used in both rugby union and rugby league to refer to extra points scored by kicking the ball through the posts after a try has been scored.
By the start of the 20th century, touchdowns had become more important and the roles of touchdown and kick were reversed. By this time the point value for the after-touchdown kick had reduced to its current one-point value while the touchdown was now worth five. (This later increased to six points in American football in 1912 and in Canadian football in 1956.)
In 2011, New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
head coach Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
suggested that the standard extra point be eliminated in favor of teams either automatically taking seven points for a touchdown or taking six with a chance for a two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
, due to the relative ease of the extra point being made.
Even in the rare instances that the placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
misses the extra point, the missed point has generally not influenced the outcome of games. Perhaps the most famous exception to this was the 2003 game between the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
and Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
where, after scoring a touchdown as time expired as a result of the multiple-lateral
Lateral pass
In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...
River City Relay
River City Relay
The River City Relay is a famous play in a National Football League game involving the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars that took place on December 21, 2003 in Jacksonville, Florida.-Background:...
, Saints kicker John Carney missed the extra point, giving the Jaguars a 20-19 victory and eliminating the Saints from playoff contention. A 2005 game between the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
is another notable exception, as the Buccaneers won 17-16, the difference being Ryan Longwell
Ryan Longwell
Ryan Walker Longwell is an American football placekicker for the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League. After playing college football for the California Golden Bears, he started his professional football career with the San Francisco 49ers, but never played a game for the franchise...
missing an extra point after a Packers touchdown.
Duration of the play
In the NFL and American high school football (in most states), the play is over once either the attempt fails or the defense takes possession. In many other levels of football, including the Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
and American college football, the play continues until the ball is otherwise dead. This allows the defense to recover the ball to return it to the opponent's end zone for two points. Two states, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, play high school football under NCAA rules and thus allow the defense to score on an extra point attempt.
Differences between leagues
In the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, the scrimmage for point after attempt takes place from the two-yard line. In American high school and college football, it is from the three-yard line. In Canadian football it is from the five-yard line. The game clock does not run during an extra-point attempt, except for some rare circumstances at the high-school level (some state associations allow for the clock to run continuously in the second half if one team is leading the other by a large margin) and for arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
, which runs a continuous running clock except during the final minute of each half.
In the NFL, the attempt for extra point(s) is required after a touchdown scored during the regulation game (i.e., not overtime), because points are used for some tiebreakers in the standings. Rarely, this can result in such an attempt having to be made at the end of the game when it cannot change the outcome of the game.
If the game is in sudden death overtime, the extra-point attempt is omitted if the winning score is a touchdown. In American high school and college football, it's likewise omitted following a touchdown on the game's final play if six points were enough to win or if the scoring team was already ahead or can not win or tie the game with a successful conversion attempt.
There is, however, one notable exception in college football because the defense can also score two points on a return of a conversion try (and theoretically score a one-point safety
Safety (football score)
A safety or safety touch is a type of score in American football and Canadian football and is worth two points . In American football, it is the only means by which a team not in possession of the football can score points...
) and the NCAA rules state that the conversion try must be run if any scoring in it could impact the outcome of the game. Therefore, if a team scores to take the lead by one or two points as time expires, they must still attempt the conversion, although most teams will simply opt to take a knee to prevent the risk of the defense scoring. For example, on October 24, 2008, Iowa
2008 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
The 2008 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa and the Iowa Hawkeyes football program in the 2008 college football season. Coached by Kirk Ferentz, the Hawkeyes played their seven home games in Kinnick Stadium.-Previous season:...
scored as time expired to take a 15-13 lead over Michigan State
2008 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 2008 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2008–2009 college football season. The team's head coach was Mark Dantonio. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan...
. Making the conversion would have made no difference in Iowa winning the game, but Iowa still had to attempt it, so Ricky Stanzi
Ricky Stanzi
-Kansas City Chiefs:Stanzi was selected with the 135th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Stanzi is second quarterback behind Tyler Palko. Regular starter Matt Cassel was placed on Injured Reserve, ending his 2011 season.-External links:***...
simply knelt down, as a return by Michigan State would have tied the game and forced overtime.
Other leagues
In 1968, the AFLAmerican Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
eliminated the extra-point kick for interleague preseason games, only allowing one-point scrimmage plays. The World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
and XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
did the same in their short lives, though the XFL later implemented a variable system that allowed increasing point values for increasing the distance to the end zone on the attempt for its playoffs; said system was later adopted by the Stars Football League
Stars Football League
The Stars Football League is a semi-pro American football league operating primarily in the Southern United States. The league is headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Its inaugural season began June 30, 2011 with two teams; the league phased two more teams into the schedule over the course of...
and, in a reduced form, the Lingerie Football League
Lingerie Football League
The Lingerie Football League is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitch Mortaza...
. In arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
, two points can also be scored by means of a drop-kicked
Drop kick
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....
field goal. Some youth football leagues turn the scoring upside-down to an extent, scoring one point for a running touchdown and two points for either of a passing touchdown or field goal; six-man football
Six-man football
Six-man football is a variant of American football that is played with six players per team, instead of 11.-History:6-man football was developed in 1934 by Chester High School coach Stephen Epler as an alternative means for small high schools to field a football team during the Great Depression...
follows a similar convention that rewards one point for a pass or run and two points for a kick.
See also
- American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- Comparison of Canadian and American football#Points after touchdown
- Glossary of American footballGlossary of American footballThe following terms are used in American football and Canadian football, but see also the glossary of Canadian football.-0-9: A formation of the 4-3 defense featuring several dramatic shifts of personnel...