American football score counter · Free · No sign-up
American Football Score Counter
An American football score counter adds 6 for a touchdown, 3 for a field goal and 2 for a safety, and records the try after each touchdown. This one also runs overtime by the rulebook: the NFL’s 2025 rule that both teams get the ball, college’s 2-point shootout, and a tie only in the NFL regular season.
Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.
Team A 0–0 Team B, Quarter 1
Touchdown 6, then a try. Field goal 3, safety 2. Tied after 4 quarters: one 10-minute overtime.
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | 0 | — | — | — | 0 |
| Team B | 0 | — | — | — | 0 |
Tap TD +6, FG +3 or Safety +2 under the team that scored; a safety goes to the defense. After a touchdown the scoring keys lock until the try is settled: good, no good, or returned by the defense. In overtime, tap who has the ball first and Possession over when a drive ends without a score. Ctrl+Z undoes.
This keeps the score, the try and the overtime order; it does not officiate the game. It has no game or play clock, no downs and distance and no player statistics, and it cannot tell a legal play from a foul. High school overtime is set by each state association and flag overtime by each league, so for those it keeps the possessions and leaves the yard line to you. It is not an official scoresheet, and it is for American football only: Canadian football, with three downs and the single point, scores differently.
Six, three and two are the easy part. What people get wrong is around them: what the try is worth, whether the defense can score on it, and whether an overtime touchdown ends the game. The answer changed in the NFL in 2025, and it has never been the same in college.
In American football, a team scores 6 points for a touchdown, followed by a try for 1 or 2 more, 3 for a field goal and 2 for a safety, which is scored by the defense. A tied game goes to overtime, played to rules that differ between the NFL, college and high school.
- No sign-up
- No ads
- Counts never leave your browser
- Works offline
- Unlimited counters
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no ads |
| Scoring | Touchdown 6, field goal 3, safety 2, with points by quarter |
| The try | Kick for 1, 2-point play, no good, or returned by the defense for 2 |
| Rules | NFL regular season, NFL playoffs, college (NCAA), high school (NFHS) and NFL FLAG |
| Defensive scoring on a try | Offered in NFL, college and flag; not in high school |
| NFL overtime | Both teams get the ball (2025 rule); an opening-drive defensive score wins |
| College overtime | Possessions from the 25; 2-point plays forced from the 2nd, shootout from the 3rd |
| Ties | Only after an NFL regular-season overtime |
| Flag football | 1 point from the 5, 2 from the 10, no field goals |
| Undo | Every score, try, possession and period change |
| Where data goes | Nowhere. Local storage in this browser only |
| Official record | No. No clock, no downs; it keeps the score and the overtime order |
How to keep score in American football with the counter
Pick the level once, then tap as the game goes.
Choose the rules
NFL regular season or playoffs, college, US high school or NFL FLAG. They decide the try and overtime, so changing them starts a new game.
Name the teams
So the score line and the box score read properly.
Tap each score
TD +6, FG +3 or Safety +2 under the team that scored. A safety is scored by the defense, so it goes under the team that did not have the ball.
Settle every try
After a touchdown the other keys lock. Tap Kick +1, 2-pt +2, No good, or Defense return +2 where the rules allow it.
End each quarter
End Q1, End Q2 and so on. At the end of regulation a tied game goes to overtime, and a decided one is final.
Run overtime
Tap which team has the ball first, score as normal, and tap Possession over when a drive ends without a score. The counter says when the game is decided.
Where an American football score counter gets used
Any game without a scoreboard operator, and anyone who wants overtime called right.
Youth and Pop Warner games
A parent on the sideline keeping the score by quarter when the field has no scoreboard.
High school sub-varsity
JV and freshman games, with a try the defense cannot score on and overtime by possessions.
Flag football leagues
NFL FLAG scoring: no kicks, 1 point from the 5 or 2 from the 10, and interception returns on the try.
Watching on TV
Follow an NFL or college overtime and know, before each snap, whether a touchdown ends it.
Backyard and pickup games
Just the touchdowns and the tries, with a box score at the end.
Fantasy and bar-room arguments
Check whether a defensive 2-point return or a one-point safety is even possible at that level.
What each score is worth: the try at every level
Six for a touchdown, three for a field goal and two for a safety are the same at every level. The try that follows a touchdown is not. Where it is snapped, whether it can be kicked, and whether the defense can score on it all depend on the rulebook. The free football scoreboards at the top of a search, checked on 2026-09-30, leave this out. KeepTheScore’s football page offers “touchdown and field goal celebrations” but never says what a score is worth. Digital Tally Counter’s has a “TD → PAT / 2-point flow” and presets from Flag to NFL, but no values. ScoreCounter’s lists the values for one game only: TD 6, XP 1, 2-pt 2, FG 3, safety 2. None of them says the defense can score on a try.
| Score | NFL | College (NCAA) | High school (NFHS) | NFL FLAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touchdown | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Try by kick | 1, snapped from the 15 | 1, from the 3 | 1, from the 3 | No kicking |
| Try by run or pass | 2, from the 2 | 2, from the 3 | 2, from the 3 | 1 from the 5, or 2 from the 10 |
| Defense returns a try | 2 (since 2015) | 2 | Not allowed | 2, on an interception |
| One-point safety on a try | 1 to the offense | 1 to the offense | — | — |
| Field goal | 3 | 3 | 3 | None |
| Safety | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Sources: the NFL’s 2015 change that moved the kick back to the 15 and let the defense return a failed try; the NCAA and NFHS football rules; the NFL FLAG rules for the 5-on-5 game. Texas and Massachusetts play high school football under NCAA rules, so there the defense can score on a try.
What the table means at the sideline
- A try is not a free point. Since 2015 the NFL kick has been snapped from the 15-yard line, a 33-yard attempt, so it is missed often enough to be worth recording. In college and high school the kick is from the 3, and the 2-point play too.
- The defense can score 2 on the other team’s try. In the NFL, in college and in NFL FLAG, a try that is intercepted, fumbled or blocked and returned the length of the field gives the defense 2 points. Under NFHS rules the try ends when the defense gets the ball. The counter’s Defense return +2 key appears only where the rules allow it.
- The one-point safety is real, and nearly never seen. If the defense takes the ball on a try and is then downed in its own end zone, the offense gets 1 point. It has happened a handful of times in college football, most recently at the top level in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, and not in the NFL since 1940. The defense can in theory score a one-point safety too; it never has.
- Flag football has no kicking at all. In NFL FLAG the try is a play from the 5 for 1 point or from the 10 for 2, an interception on either can be returned for 2, and there are no field goals. The counter hides the FG key in flag mode.
- After a safety, the team scored on kicks. It free kicks from its own 20, so the team that scored the 2 points also gets the ball.
How overtime works: NFL 2025, college, high school and flag
Overtime is where the levels differ most, and the NFL changed its rule for the 2025 season. Until then, a touchdown on the opening drive of a regular-season overtime ended the game. The playoffs dropped that in 2022, after Kansas City beat Buffalo with an opening-drive touchdown in the divisional round, and from 2025 the regular season does the same: both teams get the ball.
| Level | Format | Who gets the ball | How it ends | Can it end tied? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL regular season | One 10-minute period | Both teams, even if the first scores a touchdown (2025) | Once both have had it, the next score. A defensive score on the opening possession wins at once | Yes, if still level after 10 minutes |
| NFL playoffs | 15-minute periods | Both teams (since 2022) | As above, carrying on into further periods | No |
| College (NCAA) | No clock; a possession each from the opponent’s 25 | Both teams, every overtime | Higher score after both possessions. From the 2nd overtime a touchdown must go for 2; from the 3rd, one 2-point play each from the 3 | No |
| High school (NFHS) | Set by the state association | A possession each | Higher score after both possessions | Set by the state |
| NFL FLAG | Set by the league | Set by the league | Set by the league | Set by the league |
Sources: the NFL’s 2025 rules changes and Rules 16-1-3(a) and 16-1-4(a) on the opening-possession safety; the NCAA playing rules panel’s 2021 change that moved the 2-point requirement to the 2nd overtime and the alternating 2-point plays to the 3rd; state association overtime procedures for high school. Kentucky and Massachusetts start each overtime possession at the 10-yard line, New Jersey at the 25, and Oregon at the 25 for the first two overtimes and the 10 after that.
An NFL overtime under the 2025 rule, worked through
Team A wins the toss and receives. What happens next depends on each possession, and the counter follows it the same way: tap who receives, score as normal, and tap Possession over when a drive ends with a punt, a turnover or downs.
| Possession | What happens | Overtime score | Game over? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team A, first | Touchdown and kick | A 7, B 0 | No. Before 2025 this won a regular-season game; now B gets the ball |
| Team B | Touchdown | A 7, B 6 | Not yet: B’s try decides |
| Team B’s try | Kick good | A 7, B 7 | No. Sudden death: the next score wins |
| 2-point play good instead | A 7, B 8 | Yes, B wins | |
| Try no good instead | A 7, B 6 | Yes, A wins |
If Team A had kicked a field goal on the first possession, B could win with a touchdown, which needs no try, or tie with a field goal and go to sudden death. If B’s defense had scored on A’s opening drive, by a safety or a returned turnover, B would win at once. In the regular season, if the 10 minutes run out first, the score stands: a team ahead wins even if the other never had the ball, and a level game is a tie.
College overtime, period by period
College overtime has no clock. In the 1st overtime each team gets one possession from the opponent’s 25-yard line, with an ordinary try after a touchdown. In the 2nd, the possessions are the same but a touchdown must be followed by a 2-point play. From the 3rd overtime there are no more drives: each team runs one 2-point play from the 3-yard line, and the overtime is won when one converts and the other does not. The counter disables the kick from the 2nd overtime and runs the 3rd as a shootout of 2-point plays, recording only whether each one is good.
Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet
Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.
| Feature | This online counter | Handheld clicker | Counter phone app | Pen and paper | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5–$15 | Free with ads, or paid | Cost of paper | Subscription |
| Anything to install | No | Buy the device | App store download | No | Yes, or a web login |
| Several counts at once | Unlimited | One per device | Usually limited | Yes, messy | Yes |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo | Start over | Sometimes | Cross it out | Edit the cell |
| Counts by more than one | Any step size | One at a time | Sometimes | Manual maths | Yes |
| Below zero | Yes | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Keeps the count if you close it | Saves automatically | Until you reset the dial | Yes | If you keep the paper | Yes |
| Works with no signal | Yes, after first load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often not |
| Keyboard and shortcuts | Full | None | None | None | Partial |
| Sends your data anywhere | Never | Never | Often, for accounts and ads | Never | Yes, to the cloud |
Other counter types
The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.
Online counter
The all-purpose counter. Any step size, any number of counters, negative values allowed.
Open online counter →Tally counter
Tally marks in groups of five for surveys, stock takes and wildlife counts.
Open tally counter →Click counter
A browser clicker that replaces the handheld thumb counter for door headcounts.
Open click counter →Lap counter
Count pool lengths, track laps and treadmill intervals without losing your place.
Open lap counter →Rep counter
Track reps and sets during a lifting session, with a step size for supersets.
Open rep counter →Score counter
A scoreboard for cards, darts and board games. One counter per player, negatives allowed.
Open score counter →Tasbeeh counter
A digital dhikr counter that stops at 33, 99 or 100 and keeps each dhikr separate.
Open tasbeeh counter →Differential counter
Six keys for a manual white cell differential, with an auto-stop and live percentages.
Open differential counter →Multi counter
Run as many counters as you like at once, side by side in a grid.
Open multi counter →Pitch counter
Count pitches, then get the rest days owed and the next eligible date.
Open pitch counter →Auto counter
Counts on its own from every 0.1 seconds to once an hour, and stops at your limit.
Open auto counter →Click speed test
Measure your clicks per second over 1 to 60 seconds, with your personal best kept on-device.
Open click speed test →Habit counter
Count toward a daily target and keep the streak, with a day boundary you choose.
Open habit counter →People counter
In and out at a door, with live occupancy against a capacity and a fix for drift.
Open people counter →Bird counter
A row per species recording the high count, so a circling flock is not counted twice.
Open bird counter →Inventory counter
A count sheet holding the book quantity beside the counted one, with the variance per line.
Open inventory counter →Knitting counter
Rows, pattern repeats and a shaping schedule that names the increase rows and then ends.
Open knitting counter →Omer counter
The 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer, in days and weeks, with the blessing state tracked.
Open omer counter →Yes/No counter
Two options, a live percentage, and the sample size and caveats the percentage needs.
Open yes/no counter →Golf scorecard
Strokes per hole with the course handicap allocated by stroke index, net and Stableford.
Open golf scorecard →Breath counter
Count breaths one to ten for meditation, with lost count recorded, or time breaths per minute.
Open breath counter →Badminton score counter
Rally scoring with the service court and doubles positions, for 3x21 and the 2027 3x15 system.
Open badminton score counter →Pickleball score counter
The 0-0-2 call with the right server and side, in side-out or 2026 rally scoring.
Open pickleball score counter →Squash score counter
Point-a-rally to 11 with the server, the service box, hand out and lets.
Open squash score counter →Penalty shootout counter
Five kicks each that stop the moment a team cannot catch up, then sudden death.
Open penalty shootout counter →Basketball score counter
Points by period with team fouls and the bonus as FIBA, NBA, NCAA or high school count them.
Open basketball score counter →Baseball score counter
Balls, strikes, outs and the line score, with foul bunts, dropped third strikes and walk-offs.
Open baseball score counter →Cricket score counter
Runs, wickets and overs by legal balls, with wides, no-balls, free hits and the chase.
Open cricket score counter →
Frequently asked questions
How many points is a touchdown worth?
A touchdown is worth 6 points at every level: the NFL, college, high school and flag football. The scoring team then gets a try for more: 1 point for a kick or 2 for a run or pass into the end zone. In flag football there is no kick, so the try is 1 point from the 5-yard line or 2 from the 10.
How many points is a safety in football?
A safety is worth 2 points to the defense. It is scored when the ball carrier is downed in his own end zone, or the offense commits certain fouls there. The team scored on then free kicks from its own 20-yard line, so the team that scored the safety also gets the ball. In flag football a safety is also 2 points.
Can the defense score on an extra point?
Yes, in the NFL since 2015, in college, and in NFL FLAG. If the defense intercepts, recovers a fumble or blocks a kick on a try and returns it to the other end zone, it scores 2 points. Under US high school (NFHS) rules it cannot: the try ends as soon as the defense gets the ball, except in Texas and Massachusetts, which play NCAA rules.
What is a one-point safety?
A one-point safety is a safety scored on a try. If the defense gains the ball during a try and is downed in its own end zone, the offense gets 1 point instead of 2. It is allowed in the NFL and college but is extremely rare: a handful of college games, most recently the 2013 Fiesta Bowl at the top level, and none in the NFL since 1940.
How does overtime work in the NFL?
Since 2025, both teams get the ball in NFL overtime even if the first team scores a touchdown, unless the defense scores on that opening possession, which wins at once. After both have had it, the next score wins. The regular season plays one 10-minute period and can end tied; the playoffs play 15-minute periods until there is a winner.
Can an NFL game end in a tie?
Yes, but only in the regular season. If the score is still level when the single 10-minute overtime period runs out, the game is recorded as a tie. The clock can also run out before the second team gets the ball, and then the team ahead wins. Playoff games cannot end tied: they keep playing 15-minute overtime periods until someone wins.
How does college football overtime work?
College overtime has no clock. Each team gets one possession from the opponent’s 25-yard line, and the higher score after both wins. From the 2nd overtime a touchdown must be followed by a 2-point try. From the 3rd, the drives stop: each team runs one 2-point play from the 3-yard line, repeated until one converts and the other does not. That order dates from 2021.
How does high school football overtime work?
In US high school football each state association sets the overtime procedure. Most give each team one possession from a set yard line, with the higher score after both winning. Kentucky and Massachusetts start at the 10-yard line, New Jersey at the 25, and Oregon at the 25 for two overtimes and then the 10. There is no game clock in high school overtime.
How is flag football scored?
In NFL FLAG, a touchdown is 6 points and a safety 2. There is no kicking, so no field goals, and the try is a play: 1 point from the 5-yard line or 2 points from the 10. An interception on a try can be returned for 2 points. Other flag leagues and high school flag set their own values, so check the league rules.
Is this an official football scoreboard?
No. It is a score counter for youth games, flag leagues, pickup and following games on television. It keeps points by quarter, the try and the overtime order in this browser and sends nothing anywhere. It has no game or play clock, no downs and distance and no player statistics, and it does not decide whether a play was legal.
Counting guides
Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.
- Swimming
How to count laps while swimming
Why swimmers lose count at length 14, and five methods that actually hold up.
- Tallying
Tally marks explained
Groups of five, the five-bar gate, and why the convention has survived for centuries.
- Events
How to do an accurate headcount
Counting people is easy. Counting them accurately, twice, is not.
- Habits
Track a daily habit streak
Why streak apps fail, and what a plain daily counter does better.
- Click speed
How to click faster
Hardware and grip account for most of the gap. Practice accounts for less than people think.
- Inventory
How to do a stock take
Counting is the easy part. Preparing, and knowing your count is right, is the job.
- Training
Reps and sets explained
How to read a programme, and why the rep range matters more than the total.
- Reference
Types of counters explained
Synchronous vs asynchronous, mod-N, ring and Johnson, plus mechanical and software counters.
- Build it
How to make a counter
Twenty lines gets you counting. Here is what to add after that, and why.
- Baseball
How to keep an official pitch count
Little League requires an official recorder at every game. Almost nobody explains the job.
- Dhikr
One tasbeeh is equal to how many?
The same phrase means a bead loop, a single dhikr, or a full set of a hundred. Which one is meant, and when.
- Haematology
How to do a manual differential count
Why the pattern matters, how many cells is enough, and the imprecision built into the method itself.
- Birding
How to count a flock of birds
Blocks, tens, and why the number to report is the most seen at one time.
- Knitting
How to read knitting shaping instructions
Every 4th row, alt rows, at each end, AT THE SAME TIME — translated, with the rows they land on.
- Golf
Stableford points and net scores
Stroke index, strokes received, net score, points — in the order you actually need them.
- Surveys
How many people do you need to survey?
Why 385 answers a city and 45 answers a club, and the margin each sample size buys.