Field goal

A field goal is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a field goal cannot be scored from a punt, as the ball must touch the ground at one point after the snap and before it is kicked in order to be a valid field goal. The entire ball must pass through the vertical plane of the goal, which is the area above the crossbar and between the uprights or, if above the uprights, between their outside edges. American football requires that a field goal must only come during a play from scrimmage while Canadian football retains open field kicks and thus field goals may be scored at any time from anywhere on the field and by any player. The vast majority of field goals, in both codes, are placekicked. Drop-kicked field goals were common in the early days of gridiron football but are almost never attempted in modern times. A field goal may also be scored through a fair catch kick, but this is also extremely rare. In most leagues, a successful field goal awards three points.
Since a field goal is worth only three points, as opposed to a touchdown, which is worth six points , it is usually only attempted in specific situations, such as when the offense has reached its final down but has advanced the ball into field goal range, or when there is not enough time left in the half to score a touchdown.
The goal structure consists of a horizontal crossbar suspended above the ground, with two vertical goalposts apart extending vertically from each end of the crossbar. In American football, the goals are centered on each end line; in Canadian football, they are centered on each goal line. In order for a field goal to be scored, or to be "good", the entire ball must pass through the rectangular plane formed by the bottom horizontal crossbar and two vertical uprights formed by the goalpost. If a field goal fails to pass through this plane, it is "no good" and no score is awarded.
If a team scores a field goal, they kickoff to return possession of the ball to the opposing team. If a field goal attempt is unsuccessful, possession of the ball is turned over to the opposing team where the line of scrimmage of the field goal attempt was in the NCAA, or at the spot of the kick, the spot where the placekicker made contact with the ball, in the NFL.

Strategy

As a field goal is worth only three points, while a touchdown scores at least six, teams will generally attempt a field goal only in the following situations:

It is last down, especially if the offense is more than a yard or two from a new first down, and within kicking range of the goalposts.
In the first half, if there is only enough time remaining to execute just one more play, regardless of the down.
In the waning moments of the second half, if a successful kick will win or tie the game. In this situation, a team may choose to attempt the field goal on an earlier down or if there is still enough time remaining to execute more than one play. If there are problems with the snap or hold, the team would be then able to abort the kick attempt, and still have at least one down and time remaining to re-attempt the kick.
In overtime, if a successful field goal wins and ends the game, a team may choose to attempt a game-winning kick as soon as they get into field goal range. In this situation, a team may just decide to try to end the game rather than risk another play that could result in a turnover.

Except in desperate situations, a team will generally attempt field goals only when keeping a drive alive is unlikely, and its kicker has a significant chance of success, as a missed field goal results in a turnover at the spot of the kick or at the line of scrimmage. In American high school rules and Canadian football, where a missed field goal is treated the same as a punt, most teams still opt not to attempt field goals from very long range since field goal formations are not conducive to covering kick returns. Even under ideal conditions, the best professional kickers historically had difficulty making kicks longer than 50 yards consistently. If a team chooses not to attempt a field goal on their last down, they can punt to the other team. A punt cannot score any points in American football unless the receiving team touches the ball first and the kicking team recovers it, but it may push the other team back toward its own end.
The longest field goal kick in NFL history is 68 yards, a record set by Cam Little on 2 November 2025, which broke the record previously held by Justin Tucker at 66 yards. Cam Little kicked a 70-yard field goal in a preseason game in 2025. The record in the CFL is 63 yards, set by Sergio Castillo on August 9, 2025, tying a 24-year-old record by Paul McCallum, which was believed for years to have been 62 yards, though evidence confirmed McCallum's kick was actually closer to 63 yards. High school, college and most professional football leagues offer only a three-point field goal; however, some professional leagues have encouraged more rare kicks through four-point field goals. NFL Europe encouraged long field goals of 50 yards or more by making those worth four points instead of three, a rule since adopted by the Stars Football League. Similarly, the sport of arena football sought to repopularize the drop kick by making that worth four points; it failed since only one kicker was able to do it with any semblance of proficiency. In six-man football, all field goals are worth four points instead of the usual three. The overall field goal percentage during the 2010 NFL season was 82.3%. In comparison, Jan Stenerud, one of only three pure kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had a career field goal percentage of 66.8% from 1967 to 1985.

How field goals are kicked

When a team decides to attempt a field goal, it will generally line up in a very tight formation, with all but two players lined up along or near the line of scrimmage: the placekicker and the holder. The holder is usually the team's punter or backup quarterback. Instead of the regular center, a team may have a dedicated long snapper trained especially to snap the ball on placekick attempts and punts.
The holder usually lines up seven to eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, with the kicker a few yards behind him. Upon receiving the snap, the holder holds the ball against the ground vertically, with the stitches away from the kicker. The kicker begins his approach during the snap, so the snapper and holder have little margin for error. A split-second mistake can disrupt the entire attempt. Depending on the level of play, the ball, upon reaching the holder, is held up by either the aid of a small rubber "tee" or is placed on the ground.
File:Dustin Hopkins.jpg|thumb|right|Dustin Hopkins of the Washington Redskins attempts a field goal against the Carolina Panthers in 2018
The measurement of a field goal's distance is from the goalpost to the point where the ball was positioned for the kick by the holder. In American football, where the goalpost is located at the back of the end zone, the ten yards of the end zone are added to the yard line distance at the spot of the hold.
Until the 1960s, placekickers approached the ball straight on, with the toe making first contact with the ball. The technique of kicking the ball "soccer-style", by approaching the ball at an angle and kicking it with the instep, was introduced by Hungarian-born kicker Pete Gogolak in the 1960s. Reflecting his roots in European soccer, Gogolak observed that kicking the ball at an angle could cover more distance than kicking straight-on; he played college football at Cornell and made his pro debut in 1964 with the Buffalo Bills of the AFL; his younger brother Charlie was also an NFL kicker. The soccer-style kick gained popularity and was nearly universal by the late 1970s; the last full-time straight-on kicker in the NFL was Mark Moseley, who retired in 1986.

Successful field goals

If there is any time left in the half, the method of resuming play after a successful field goal varies between leagues.

Missed field goals

A missed field goal is said to be "no good" if the kicked ball does not cross between the uprights and over the crossbar of the goal posts. If it misses to the side of the uprights, it may be called "wide left" or "wide right". A field goal attempt may be described as "short" if it does not have sufficient distance to go over the cross bar. Some commentators will only describe a field goal attempt as being short if it appears to have been aimed correctly while others will describe an attempt appearing to lack both accuracy and distance as being both wide and short.
If a field goal attempt is missed, and the ball does not go out of bounds and has not been ruled dead by a referee, then a defensive player may advance the ball, as with a punt or kickoff. This type of play usually occurs either during an extremely long field goal attempt or if the attempt is blocked. If there is a significant likelihood of a miss and the strategic game situation warrants it, the defense places a player downfield, in or near their end zone, to catch the ball. The risk in this is that the return man may be tackled deep in his own territory, at a considerably worse position than he could have gotten by letting the ball go dead ; furthermore, should the returner fumble the ball, the kicking team can recover it and gain a new set of downs. Thus, teams will usually return a kick only towards the end of a half or in a particularly desperate situation.
If a ball caroms off one of the goal posts or the crossbar but lands in the field of play, the ball is considered dead and cannot be returned. However, if the ball continues into the goal after caroming, the score counts. If the ball re-enters the field of play after crossing the vertical plane of the goal, the score also counts; this is now known as the "Phil Dawson rule" after the eponymous player scored a game-tying field goal that rebounded off the back support of the goal and back into the field of play.
Situations where the defense does not return a missed field goal vary between leagues and levels of play: