How to Play
NFL
Rules of American Football
The basics
- American Football is a game where two teams of 11 players compete to score more points. The game is played for 60 minutes in 4 quarters of 15 minutes each.
- The aim of the game is to move the ball into the opposition’s endzone to score a touchdown. They can do this either by passing or running/rushing with the ball.
- Passing Play: The quarterback throws a pass to a receiver to catch
- Rushing Play: The running back runs with the ball in his hands.
- The team with possession of the ball (offensive team) gets 4 chances (or downs) to move the ball forward by a minimum of 10 yards. If they successfully move 10 or more yards towards the opposition end zone area, they get 4 more downs.
- If the team is unable to move 10 or more yards even after 4 downs, possession is given to the other team. Also, if the defense catches a passing, known as an interception, or if the offensive player running with the ball drops it and the defense gets hold of it, known as a fumble recovery, then possession changes hands.
- Each team has a total of up to 46 players in the squad, with 3 different units of 11 players taking the field depending on the situation
- The Offense comes on the field when the team has possession of the ball
- The Defence comes on the field when the opposition has possession of the ball
- A special unit comes on the field in certain situations, whenever a kick is involved
Important: In Fantasy NFL, not all players are considered for selection. From the offense and defence teams, only certain positions are considered, as shown in the diagram (since the other are unlikely to score points in fantasy). The entire Special team is not considered.
Offense:
| QB | Quarterback |
|---|---|
| RB | Running Back |
| WR | Wide Receiver |
| TE | Tight End |
Defense:
| S | Safety |
|---|---|
| CB | Cornerback |
| LB | Lineback |
Note: All 3 defense player types are categorized as DEF (Defense) on Dream11
Scoring
There are 4 ways of scoring points in American Football
- Touchdown: A touchdown is scored when a player successfully reaches the opposition end zone. The scoring team gets 6 points for a touchdown.
- If a rushing play leads to a touchdown, then that player is awarded a Rushing Touchdown.
- If the quarterback passes the ball to a receiver who then scores a touchdown, then the receiver is awarded a Receiving touchdown.
- Also, the quarterback is given a Passing touchdown as a stat, which is similar to an assist in Football.
- Lastly, if a defensive player intercepts a pass or recovers a fumble and manages to run with the ball into the opponent's endzone, this is called a Return touchdown.
- Extra points: After a touchdown is scored, the team has an option to
- Kick the ball through the goal and over the crossbar for 1 point OR
- Cross the opposition end zone once again for 2 points (called a 2 Pt Conversion)
- Field goal: At any time during the game, a team can kick the ball between the posts and over the crossbar to score 3 points
- Safety: If an offensive player is tackled behind the goal line, the opposing team gets 2 points
Creating your team
Every NFL team you create on Dream11 has to have 11 players, of which a maximum of 7 players can be from any one team playing the real-life match.
Player combinations
PLEASE NOTE: While each team has three different units of 11 players each, you can only pick players from the offensive and defensive units on Dream11
| Player Type | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback (QB) | 1 | 1 |
| Running Back (RB) | 1 | 4 |
| Wide Receiver (WR) | 1 | 4 |
| Tight End (TE) | 1 | 2 |
| Defense (DEF) | 2 | 5 |
Captain and Vice-Captain Points
Once you have selected your 11 players, you will have to assign a captain and vice-captain for your team.
The captain will give you 2x points scored by them in the actual match.
The vice-captain will give you 1.5x points scored by them in the actual match.
The Captained By (% C By) and Vice-Captained By (% VC By) stats help you understand how other players have chosen their teams.
Choose a popular pick as captain, or find a differential to score big against your competition.
For a detailed point system, check below:
Fantasy Points System
Offense
Rushing TD
When a rushing play leads to a touchdown
6
Receiving TD
For the receiver who scores the touchdown in a passing play
6
Passing TD
Awarded to the passer when a passing play leads to a touchdown
4
10 Rushing Yards
1
10 Receiving Yards
1
25 Passing Yards
1
100+ Rushing Yards Bonus
When a players has 100 or more rushing yards
3
100+ Receiving Yards Bonus
When a players has 100 or more recieving yards
3
300+ Passing Yards Bonus
When a players has 300 or more passing yards
3
Reception
Total no. of times a receiver has caught the ball
1
Fumble Lost
When a carrier loses the ball & it's recovered by the opposing team
-1
Interception
When a pass is intercepted by the opposing team
-1
2 Pt Conversion
2
Defense
Tackle
1
Assisted Tackle
When a player is tackled by at least two players
1
5+ Tackle Bonus
When a player makes 5 or more Tackles (Assists = 1/2 Tackle)
3
Pass Defended
When a player stops a pass from being completed
2
Sack
When a player tackles the QB before he throws a pass
6
Forced Fumble
When the carrier loses the ball due to the force of a defensive player
3
Fumble Recovery (from opponent)
When a fumble is recovered from the opposition
6
Interception
When the player intercepts a pass by the opposing team
6
Safety
When the ball carrier is tackled/forced out in his own end zone
6
Return TD
When the defense recovers the ball and scores a touchdown
6
Other Important Points
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We partner with Sportradar, NFL’s exclusive distributor for official real-time scores, player statistics and play-by-play data (Game Statistics and Information System), to get our stats and data
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Yards: A player gets a point after completing the 10th Rushing / 10th recieving and 25th passing yards. For example, if the player has 9 yards, they still get 0 points
-
Negative Yards: If a player was tackled or forced out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage (i.e. where the play started) then the player gets negative yards for that play. If a player ends the game with negative yards, they will get -1 point for every 10th rushing/10th recieving and 25th passing yards.
-
Return Touchdown: Only return touchdowns that happen from interceptions and fumbles are considered. Return touchdowns that happen from a punt, kickoff, field goal return and blocked kick are not considered since these are scored by the special teams, which aren't part of the fantasy gameplay
-
Bonus Points: These are given only if the player completes a specific number of yards once. For example, if a player crosses 100 rushing yards they get 3 points. Even if they cross 200 rushing yards, they still get 3 pts.
-
Sack: If multiple players contribute to the sacking of a quarterback, all players are awarded half a sack, even if more than two players contributed, and get 3 fantasy points
-
2 Pt Conversion: In a rushing play, the rusher will be awarded with a 2 Pt Conversion (and get 2 fantasy points). In a passing play, both the reciever and passer will be awarded with a 2 Pt Conversion (both get 2 fatansy points)
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Once a match has been marked as completed and winners have been declared, no further adjustments will be made to the points awarded. Points awarded for a LIVE game will be subject to change only when the match status is “In Progress” or “In Review”.