Why Do Touchdowns Equal 6 Points?

23 December 2021

American football has many ways to score a point making it complicated especially if you are a new fan of this sport.

Teams have different ways to score points but the most significant way to score is to have a touchdown.

A touchdown that is commonly abbreviated as TD, is a scoring play in football.

Whether passing, running, returning a punt or kickoff, or recovering a turnover, a team can score a touchdown by advancing the ball into the end zone of the opponent.

Why Does a Touchdown Equal 6 Points?

A touchdown is equivalent to 6 points because it is considered to be twice as hard as having a field goal that gives 3 points each time it is achieved.

Therefore, scoring a touchdown is worth two field goals which is a total of 6 points.

The team who scored the touchdown is also given the chance for an extra point or a two-point conversion. If there is any time left in the half, the team who scored the touchdown can kick off to the opposing team.

Different Ways To Score Points In Football

In football, there are a few ways for the team to score. Most of the scoring is based on touchdowns and field goals.

For you to score in football, a player must kick the ball through the field goalposts or must cross the goal line.

The defense team can also have their score by tackling the opponent in their end zone. This is the list of all possible scores when playing football:

  • Field goal – 3 points
  • Safety – 2 points
  • Touchdown – 6 points
  • Extra point – 1 point
  • Two-point conversion – 2 points

I found this awesome video on youtube that explains very well how scoring works in football so feel free to watch it before going on reading our post.

Touchdown

The field in football has two goal lines which are all marked by having a thick white line.

Each of the goal lines is 100 yards away from the other. Beyond the goal line is known as the end zone.

A player must cross the goal line and enter the end zone to score a touchdown; this way, the team gets 6 points.

The primary goal in playing football is to have more touchdowns as these will give more points to your team. A player can score a touchdown when he advances the ball across the goal line of the other team going to the end zone.

Team players must break the plane of the goal line which means if any part of the ball is in the space above, on, or across the goal line while it is in the player’s possession wherein his team is trying to score in that particular end zone.

Any part of the ball that will touch or directly over the goal line is enough to score of having a touchdown. But only the ball counts and not a player’s foot, helmet, or any part of his body.

Extra 1 Point or 2 Point Conversion

After scoring a touchdown, the offensive team has the chance for an extra 1-point or two-point conversion.

An additional 1 point is at stake for the team that scored the touchdown.

The ball will be placed in a 2-yard line in NFL or a 3-yard line in college football. The attacking team will attempt a play to kick the ball through the uprights, and if they make it, they get an extra point. This is also called Point After Touchdown or PAT.

A two-point conversion can also be scored after a touchdown.

This is considered more risky and difficult compared with the extra 1 point.

Like with the additional 1 point, the ball is being placed on a 2-yard line for NFL players or a 3-yard line for college athletes. In this special case, the team will try to advance the ball going across the goal line and score a touchdown.