ELI5- Can someone explain the basics of NFL football rules and positions?

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Hey so I’m am adult woman who was not allowed to ask questions about sports growing up so I thought I hated them for a long time. This is my second season as a NFL viewer and I get so confused sometimes.

There is a new dynamic kickoff rule and I have googled it but still have no idea what it means.

Yesterday The Lions and The Rams went into OT and I thought the refs said that both teams would have a chance to have possession of the ball but The Lions scored a TD and won the game.

I understand that offense is the team with possession of the ball and their QB is on the field and defense is trying to stop them from scoring but I don’t understand the other positions. If there is an injury can a defensive player play on offense or is that a big no no?

I just want to watch a game without constantly having to Google what’s going on.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

What the ref said was “both teams will have a chance to possess the ball UNLESS the first drive results in a touchdown, a safety, or they possess the ball for the entire 10 minutes”

For the most part, a player can play whatever position. There’s some rules about jersey numbers, but that’s getting into the weeds. Usually, a team has 1 or more backups for a position. So, if a defensive player is hurt, they have someone to replace them that plays their position.

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