How Many Plays are in an NFL Game?
How Many Plays are in an NFL Game?
The average NFL game has between 60 and 70 plays.
How long is an NFL game?
The game itself is divided into four quarters, each of which is 15 minutes long. The length of an NFL game has been slowly increased over time; in the 1920s, NFL games were typically only an hour long, while now they are nearly double that. There are a few reasons for this change. One reason is that the nature of the game has changed; there are now more opportunities for stoppages in play, such as first downs and timeouts, which allows for more commercials and therefore more revenue. In addition, the NFL has been increasingly focusing on player safety, and shorter quarters allow for more rest time between plays and reduce the likelihood of injuries.
Assuming an average of 12 minutes of play per quarter, that gives us a total game time of 60 minutes. However, NFL games typically last much longer than that due to all the stoppages in play. According to Business Insider, the average NFL game lasts around 3 hours and 12 minutes, though this can vary depending on factors such as how many commercials there are and how many penalties are called. So while the actual playing time is only 60 minutes, you can expect a typical NFL game to last around three hours from start to finish.
