American football is a popular sport that captures the attention of millions every fall. With its complex rules and fast-paced play, football games give fans plenty of action to enjoy. The sport also lends itself well to riddles that challenge your knowledge.
This article features 53 riddles about key aspects of American football. How well do you know the details that make the game tick? Test your skills by trying to solve these football brainteasers. Scroll down for the answers to check if you guessed correctly!
Riddles About Football Rules
Football has an intricate set of rules that govern play. Make sure you understand regulations around timekeeping, scoring, and more.
Q: I’m not a watch or a smartphone, but you will spot me all over the field. I’m indispensable for keeping the timing fair for both football teams. What am I?
Answer:
A game clock. Mounted stadium scoreboards feature large game clocks to time each quarter of play. Officials also keep time on the field.
Q: Teams get six tries to move the ball 10 yards. If they get a first down, their count starts back at one. If not, the other team takes over possession. What are these six tries called?
Answer:
Downs. Teams have four downs to gain 10 yards and earn a first down. If they come up short after the fourth try, they must punt or go for it on their final down.
Q: What happens if the offense accidentally throws the ball to the other team or drops the ball and the defense recovers it?
Answer:
A turnover. When the offense loses possession of the ball unexpectedly to the opposing defense, that giveaway is known as a turnover.
Q: At the start of each half or after scoring plays, one team kicks off to the other from a kicking tee at their 35-yard line. What do you call this play?
Answer:
The kickoff. To put the ball in play in those situations, a special teams kicker boots the ball downfield to the opposing team.
Q: On a kickoff following a touchdown, instead of a standard kick teams now often try an unusual high kick that’s caught near the goal line. What’s it called?
Answer:
An onside kick. It’s a high risk play where the kicking team tries to retain possession rather than giving up the ball.
Riddles About Football Players
The 11 players on offense and defense each have specific roles to play on every down. How well do you know what they do?
Q: I’m one of the biggest guys on the field. I hunker down at the line of scrimmage and try to stop anyone coming my way. What position do I probably play?
Answer:
Defensive tackle. Among the largest players, defensive tackles line up on the interior defensive line to plug running lanes.
Q: I’m usually the smallest guy on the team. I stand far back from the line of scrimmage to survey the whole field. When the play starts, my job is to halt anyone who comes my way. Who am I?
Answer:
Free safety. Playing the deepest spot on defense, free safeties roam as the last line of protection against big plays.
Q: Center, guard or tackle – take your pick, as I play somewhere on the offensive line. On each play I block the defense from tackling our quarter back or ball carrier. Who am I?
Answer:
An offensive lineman. Five blockers – the center, guards and tackles – comprise the offensive line protecting the backfield.
Q: Our team dresses two of us for every game. When the starting QB gets injured, it’s my turn to take over leading the offense. What position do I play?
Answer:
Backup quarterback or second-string quarterback. Teams have one go-to starter under center and a backup who is nearly as skilled.
Q: Think of me as a bodyguard on the field. I protect the quarterback’s blind side from blitzing pass rushers. What position would you find me at?
Answer:
Left tackle. Seen as the most critical offensive line role, left tackles shield right-handed QBs from the defense’s best edge rushers.
Football Equipment Riddles
Let’s see how well you know key pieces of equipment used in football at all levels of play. These items help make the hard-hitting action possible.
Q: I’m probably the most important piece of equipment to protect players from injury. You’ll find big plastic guards covering my gridiron warriors from head to toe. What am I?
Answer:
Football helmet and pads. Helmets shield players from head trauma, while shoulder pads, thigh pads, knee pads and more go beneath uniforms.
Q: During games I often get tossed and kicked by players and coaches. Made of pigskin, teams want me in their grasp to score points. What am I?
Answer:
The football. Regulation NFL balls are made of cowhide leather. Teams must possess and advance the ball to put up points.
Q: You’ll see me at the bottom of goal posts and uprights, but I have nothing to do with kicking field goals. Players often land in my soft embrace after catching a ball just inside the end zone. What am I?
Answer:
Padding around the base of the goal post. This orange foam protects players from hard hits against the uprights.
Q: I’m used on every single play, but you won’t notice me. I’m not the ball, a helmet or pads. But games could never happen without me making the field playable. What am I?
Answer:
The grass or artificial turf. Football fields require durable, well-maintained surfaces for traction and safety.
Q: Receivers wear me on their hands to help grab passes. Linemen use me for better grip locking up with rushers. What piece of equipment am I describing?
Answer:
Football gloves. Many players today wear padded, rubberized gloves to improve their handling of the ball and fending off opponents.
Football Lingo and Terminology Riddles
Listen closely when announcers call plays and analysts talk strategy. Football has a language all its own full of unique words and phrases.
Q: Fans might shout it after an amazing touchdown catch. Coaches might praise a player for showing this quality after a gutsy win. What’s the word that describes brave, determined effort?
Answer:
Grit. Football rewards those who exhibit grit, willing themselves through pain and adversity.
Q: Networks air these short video replays right after big plays to breakdown how they happened. What are they called?
Answer:
Instant replays. On-screen graphics analyze angles the live cameras may have missed.
Q: When a quarterback throws a short pass out to the sides just beyond the line of scrimmage, what’s that called?
Answer:
A screen pass. It’s designed to let receivers or running backs pick up downfield blocks to gain yards after the catch.
Q: This phrase describes the strategy of a strong safety moving up to the line just before the snap, preparing to blitz the quarterback from an unexpected angle.
Answer:
Creeping up into the box. Backfield defenders will sometimes inch forward pre-snap to disguise their intentions.
Q: Offensive schemes aim to get speedy wide receivers open in one-on-one, single coverage against cornerbacks downfield. I’m the word that names that approach. What am I?
Answer:
Spreading the field. Spread offenses line up receivers wide to the sidelines to space out defenses in isolated matchups.
Brainteasers About Strategy
Football coaches have to make quick, smart decisions to give their teams advantages. These riddles test your play-calling IQ.
Q: Down 31-30 with the ball late in the 4th quarter, a team reaches fourth and goal from the 7-yard line. They’d need to go for it to win, but should take the easy field goal to send the game to overtime. What should their coach decide to do?
Answer:
Take the lead with the field goal. Going to overtime offers a safer chance to win than failing on a risky fourth down.
Q: A team trails 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter. It’s fourth and inches from their own 45-yard line. Their offense stays on the field to seemingly go for it. What strategic move might they be planning instead?
Answer:
A hard count. The offense may be trying to draw the defense offside with loud calls at the line for a free first down by penalty.
Q: My team has the ball with a narrow 27-24 lead and 1:48 remaining. It’s second down near midfield. What should our offense smartly do next to run out the clock?
Answer:
Run up the middle. Calling conservative runs forces the defense to use timeouts to preserve time for their final drive.
Q: We desperately need a touchdown trailing by six late in the game. My coach calls four verticals. What might that be referring to strategically?
Answer:
Having four wide receivers all run deep routes toward the end zone looking for a long score. It spreads the coverage and gives more chances for someone to get open.
Q: My teammate just broke three tackles and raced all the way into the end zone! But a flag is down back near the line of scrimmage. Will his exciting run still count for points?
Answer:
No, it’s coming back. Penalties that occur during the play erase any scoring result and require replaying the down.
Riddles About Significant Moments
NFL history holds many strange oddities, miraculous comebacks, crazy laterals and more. Test your recall on some of football’s strangest occurrences below:
Q: It was dubbed the “Miracle at the Meadowlands.” In 1978, one team was just kneeling down to secure a win, before an errant handoff led to a fumble the other team returned for the improbable game-winning score. Which franchises took part in this iconic play?
Answer:
The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles were the rivals involved in the legendary flubbed play.
Q: Thanksgiving Day games always pit classic franchises against each other. One of the most famous scores occurred in 1993 when a defender ran a fumble all the way back while his teammates confusingly looked on, covered by snow. Name the teams from that clip.
Answer:
In what became known as the “Leon Lett Game,” the Miami Dolphins blocked a field goal against the Dallas Cowboys as time expired, with the confused Lett trying to recover it.
Q: In the 1984 Orange Bowl, one Heisman Trophy winning running back memorably ended his career by scoring a touchdown on an injured leg that left him facing backwards. It became an iconic sports moment. Who was this legendary player?
Answer:
Nebraska’s Mike Rozier concluded his 1983 Heisman campaign by limping backwards into the end zone after a blow to his knee against Miami.
Q: The NFL saw its first ever playoff game end in a tie in 2021. Name the AFC rivals whose defensive struggle finished deadlocked after overtime.
Answer:
The Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals played to a 26-26 stalemate before Cincinnati advanced by virtue of their superior regular season record.
Q: He spent more than 20 years as an NFL backup quarterback before finally getting his chance to shine at age 38. Filling in mid-game due to injury in 2018, he led his team to upset the red-hot Chiefs in primetime. Name this longtime underdog turned hero.
Answer:
Journeyman Nick Foles turned in an heroic relief effort for the Philadelphia Eagles, catching fire as a substitute to shock Kansas City as big underdogs.
Riddles for Super Fans
Think you know everything about football? Put your supreme fandom to the test! These riddles force you to dig deep into gridiron trivia and odd knowledge.
Q: Which franchise won the very first Super Bowl in January 1967?
Answer:
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the inaugural AFL-NFL World Championship Game, retroactively called Super Bowl I.
Q: Founded in 1920 as an original NFL team, this franchise has the unusual distinction of neither its city nor team name including a letter that doubles. What historic team is it?
Answer:
The Green Bay Packers. As the NFL’s smallest market, little Green Bay is the lone team without a doubled letter.
Q: He never played football until age 23 after his college basketball career. Just four years later in 1956, Paul Hornung won the Heisman Trophy and NFL championship as a triple-threat rushing, receiving and kicking weapon. What legendary coach and QB teamed with him?
Answer:
Paul Hornung enjoyed huge success alongside head coach Vince Lombardi and QB Bart Starr on the Green Bay Packers dynasty.
Q: This patriotic-themed team name actually began as an insult. Opposing players mocked them as a “brave warrior” type, but the franchise embraced the name. What moniker did this eventual AFC juggernaut adopt?
Answer:
The Kansas City Chiefs. Despite rival AFL franchises pegging them with the silly Native American motif, owner Lamar Hunt transformed the name into a proud tradition.
Q: In the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State and Oklahoma played one of college football’s most thrilling games ever. It featured two hook and lateral plays, including one miraculous 4th and 18 score dubbed “Circus Circus.” Besides a 43-42 overtime final, what unusual scoring oddity occurred?
Answer:
Boise State won on a two-point conversion in OT, making the final score 43-42 without either team ever having exactly 43 points.
Conclusion
How did you fare with these challenging American football riddles? The complex rules and endless oddities surrounding the sport make for limitless creative brainteasers. Football fans can always gain more knowledge about game strategy, famous players and historic moments.
Learning all the positions, equipment and lingo takes time too. But solving puzzling scenarios helps sharpen your football IQ. Whether you got stumped or aced these 53 gridiron puzzles, keep enjoying the endless intrigue and unexpected turns that this beloved sport provides!
