Article three in a 10-part series

Ladies, do you try to watch football but find you have no clue what is going on?  You’ve heard of touchdowns and field goals, but do you know how they are made and how many points they each bring?  Help is here as this column was designed to give you a better understanding.  

Touchdown
To score a touchdown, one team must take the football into the opposite end zone. This can be done by having a player run the football forward into the end zone. It can also be done when a receiver catches a pass in the end zone or catches the ball prior to the end zone and runs it in.  This would still be considered a "passing" touchdown as opposed to a "rushing" touchdown.

A touchdown is worth six points. The scoring team is also awarded the opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion.  Afterwards, the team scoring the touchdown kicks off to the opposing team.

Touchdowns are usually scored by the offense. However, the defense can also score a touchdown if they have recovered a fumble or an interception and return it to the opposing end zone. Special teams can score a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return, or on a return after a missed or blocked field goal attempt or blocked punt.

Extra point
This is played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking or two points by touchdown.  An extra point is also referred to as a conversion, point after touchdown (sometimes abbreviated as PAT), or point after.  If the kick goes through the uprights, the team gets an additional one point for their touchdown, bringing their total for that score from six points to seven.

Two-point conversion
In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run a play from close to the opponent's goal line and advance the ball across the goal line in the same manner as if they were scoring a touchdown. If the team succeeds, it earns two additional points on top of the six points for the touchdown. If the team fails, no additional points are scored. In either case, the team proceeds to a kickoff.  The ability to score a two-point conversion was added to NCAA football in 1958 and the NFL in 1994.

Field goal
A field goal must pass "through the uprights," a 10 feet crossbar with upright posts that are 18 feet 6 inches apart.  A missed field goal is said to be "no good."  If it misses to the kicker's left it is referred to as "wide left" and conversely "wide right" if it misses to the kicker's right. It may also be described as being "short" if it does not have the distance to go through the uprights.

Safety 
A safety is a type of score worth two points where a team not in possession of the football can score points. A safety may occur in a variety of ways, most commonly when an opponent in possession of the football is tackled in his own end zone.  An official signals a safety by holding his hands above his head, palms touching.

A safety is by far the least common type of score.  No NFL team has ever recorded more than four in one season. Safeties usually occur when the offense starts a play close to its own end zone. In such cases, offenses tend to run very conservative, low-risk plays to avoid a safety.

Free kick
After a safety, the team that gave up the points kicks off to the other team from its own 20-yard line.  The kicking team has the option of employing a punt or a drop kick, and a punt is the most commonly chosen option.  Unlike the kickoff, a kicking tee may not be used.

Now that you have a better understanding how touchdowns and field goals are scored, watching football will be so much more fun – trust me! 

Source: Wikipedia