A touchdown is earned when a player has legal possession of the ball and the ball touches or goes over the imaginary vertical plane above the opposing team’s goal line. After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a try play for 1 or 2 points (see below). A successful touchdown is signaled by an official extending both arms vertically above the head. A touchdown is worth six points, except in the defunct WFL where it was worth seven points.
For statistical purposes, the player who advances the ball into or catches it in the end zone is credited with the touchdown. If a forward pass was thrown on the play, the throwing player is credited with a passing touchdown.
A try for an extra point is attempted during the scrimmage down that’s awarded after a touchdown. The extra point is successful when the kicker kicks the ball between the uprights of the goalpost and above the crossbar, provided that the ball was snapped 2 yards away from the opponents’ goal line (or 3 yards away in high school or college). Teams should almost always make their extra point attempts — especially above the high school level — because the kick is a fairly easy one.
When a team is feeling particularly confident — or desperate — it might instead attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown. The offense gets the ball on the 2-yard line (the 3-yard line in high school and college) and must advance the ball across the goal line as if scoring a touchdown.
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