How Many Challenges Do You Get In An NFL Game?
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How Many Challenges Do You Get In An NFL Game?
You may have seen some coaches throwing challenge flags on television during NFL games and wondered how many challenges each team is allowed.
How Many Challenges Does Each Team Get?
In an NFL game, each team gets two challenges per game. If a team uses both of its challenges, and the calls on the field are upheld after review, that team cannot challenge any other calls for the remainder of the game.
In the Regular Season
Each team gets two challenges per game, plus a third if they win their first two challenges.
In the Playoffs
During the playoffs, each team gets three challenges per game, regardless of whether they win or lose their first challenge.
How Many Challenges Does Each Coach Get?
In an NFL game, each coach is allowed two challenges. If they win both challenges, they get a third.
In the Regular Season
Each team is allowed two challenges per game, and they can only use them on plays that are reviewable. If a team uses both of its challenges in the first half, it gets another pair of challenges to use in the second half. If a team uses one challenge and the play is upheld, that team retains its second challenge. If a team uses both challenges in the first half and one is upheld, the team gets one more challenge for the second half. And if a team doesn’t use any challenges in the first half, it gets two more for the second half.
In the Playoffs
The number of challenges each team gets in the playoffs is different from the regular season. In the playoffs, each team gets two challenges in the first half and three challenges in the second half, regardless of whether or not any of their earlier challenges were successful.
How Many Challenges Can a Team Use in a Game?
In an NFL game, each team is allowed two challenges per game, and they can only use them on plays that are reviewable. If a team uses both of their challenges and the plays are still not reviewable, then they cannot challenge any more plays for the rest of the game.
In the Regular Season
The short answer is that each team gets two challenges per game, plus a third if they win their first two. In the playoffs, the rules are slightly different — each team gets two challenges, period.
The long answer has to do with the types of plays that can be challenged. In the regular season, coaches can challenge any officiating call except for scoring plays, turnovers, or anything in the last two minutes of either half. If a coach throws a challenge flag and the call is upheld, that team loses a timeout. If the call is reversed, they get the timeout back.
In the playoffs, coaches can only challenge pass interference calls or non-calls. Again, if the call is upheld, the challenging team loses a timeout. If it’s reversed, they get the timeout back.
In the Playoffs
In the Playoffs, each team is allowed three challenges per game, plus one additional challenge if they win a coin toss prior to the start of the game.
What Happens If a Team Uses All of Its Challenges in a Game?
If a team uses all of its challenges in a game, that team is said to be “out of challenges.” This can happen if a team uses its two allotted challenges in the first half, and then is unsuccessful on its lone challenge in the second half. If a team is out of challenges, it cannot challenge any more plays for the rest of the game.
In the Regular Season
Each team is allowed three challenges per game, plus a fourth if they win the first three. These challenges can be used at any point during the game, including during plays that are already underway.
In the Playoffs
If a team uses all of its challenges in the first half, it cannot challenge any plays in the second half. However, each team gets a third challenge if it scorees a touchdown or causes a turnover on defense in the second half.
