American football, also known as gridiron football, is a sport played on a rectangular field by two teams of 11 players. The gridiron (playing field) measures 100 yards in length and 53 yards in width. It features yard markers that help keep track of the ball.
Each team typically consists of 53 players, but only 11 players from each team participate at one time. Contending teams assume two roles: offense and defense. While the team on offense strives to get the oval-shaped ball into the opponent's end zone, the defending team tries to stop the offense from advancing toward the end zone.
The offense gets four chances to move the ball forward by at least 10 yards while facing the defense’s intervention. Each play is known as a down. If the offense is unsuccessful after four downs, possession is given to the opposing team.
The game is divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each. Between the second and third quarters, there's a halftime break of 12 minutes.
