NFL vs XFL Rules

Football fans can’t get enough of this pulse-pounding game. It’s the ultimate high-impact, bruising tussle where titans of the pitch lock horns in physical showdowns. Dominance is the objective. Bone-crushing plays and spectacular acrobatics often result. But that’s the nature of the beast – football is life. In the US, we were all ecstatic to get a crack at more adrenaline-fueled football entertainment when the XFL was formed.

The XFL professional football league kicked off on 8 February 2020 – barely a week after the Super Bowl. In 2020, a handful of XFL teams have been brought to the public, including the D.C. Defenders, the Tampa Bay Vipers, the Seattle Dragons, the Houston Roughnecks, the Dallas Renegades, the Saint Louis BattleHawks, the Los Angeles Wildcats, and the New York Guardians. The first draft took place in October 2019, with 568 professional football players joining the franchises.

XFL Teams and their Home Stadia

* The D. C. Defenders play at Audi Field, in Washington, DC.
* The Dallas Renegades play at Globe Life Park, in Arlington, Texas.
* The Houston Roughnecks play at TDECU Stadium, in Houston, Texas.
* The Seattle Dragons player at CenturyLink Field, in Seattle, Washington.
* The Tampa Bay Vipers play at Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, Florida.
* The New York Guardians play at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
* The Los Angeles Wildcats play at Dignity Health Sports Park, in Carson, California.
* The Saint Louis BattleHawks play at The Dome at America's Center, in Saint Louis, Missouri
* Team 9 is an extra squad with players that are available to fill the positions on a team in the league. This is unique to pro football.

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How do the NFL Rules Differ from the XFL Rules?

I'm going to keep this light, so it's pretty easy for all of us to understand. The XFL Rules for 2020 went into effect for the opening weekend which began on 8 February 2020, and continues through the final championship game on Sunday 26 April 2020 when East meets West at 3 PM Eastern time, televised on ESPN.

Kickoffs
* The kicker begins from the 30-yard line. The ball must be kicked up into the air and must be in play between the 20-yard line and the opponent’s end zone
* If kicks are out of bounds, or kicks fall short of the 20-yard line, this results in a penalty taking the ball to the team’s 45-yard line.
* Officials must be notified if the team wants to run an onside kick. This allows the teams to use standard NFL rules (10-yard distance from the kicking team) with no surprise kicks onside.

NFL rule – In the NFL, kick-offs start at the 35-yard line. There are 5 players on either side of the ball. The ball can be kicked for a touchback out of the end zone, or out of bounds and then placed at the 40-yard line.

Punting
* Until the ball is kicked, the punting team is not allowed to release the ball past the line of scrimmage.
* Lateral movements are allowed with Gunners at the line of scrimmage once the ball is snapped.
* If a ball that has been punted lands in the opponent's end zone, or goes beyond the end zone, this is known as a Major Touchback and the ball will then go out to the 35-yard line.

NFL rule - The NFL allows Gunners to release once the ball has been snapped. Other players must release when the ball has been kicked. If a ball that has been kicked lands out of bounds, it will be placed at the spot where it left the field.

Double Forward Passing
* If a team is behind the line of scrimmage and completes a forward pass, the team is allowed to throw a second forward pass provided that the ball has not crossed the line of scrimmage.
* No forward passes are allowed once the ball is past the line of scrimmage.

NFL rule - Only 1 forward pass is allowed per play.

Point-After Touchdown
* After TDs, teams can run a play from either the 2, the 5, or the 10-yard line. These will be worth the following points 1, 2, 3 points respectively. Teams are required to run offensive plays, with no kicking plays permitted.
* If turnovers result and the ball gets returned to the opponent’s end zone, the score will be equal to the number of points that the offense was trying to score on its PAT.

NFL rule - The NFL allows teams to decide whether they want to go for a kicked extra point, or opt for a 2-point conversion.

Overtime Rules

* There are 5 rounds of overtime in single-play possessions. These rounds consist of 1 offensive play for each team. The possession begins at the opponent's 5-yard line and the offensive team has 1 play within which to score.  After 5 rounds of play, the team with more points wins.

NFL rule –There are 10-minute overtime periods in the NFL; a coin toss decides which team will possess the ball in over time. If there is no winner in the overtime period of play, the game is a tie

There you have it folks! A couple of important rule differences between the XFL and the NFL that are currently in effect as we speak.

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*NY Guardians Courtesy of Steve Luciano and AP