American football / Rule 04
Game timing
NFL · 2026In short
Quarters, timeouts and the play clock.
Playing time
Regulation lasts 60 minutes in 4 quarters of 15 minutes. Teams change ends after the opening and third quarters. Each team has 3 timeouts per half. The game clock stops for events such as incomplete forward passes, out-of-bounds plays and the two-minute warning; its restart depends on the situation.
Starting the next play
The play clock is separate from the game clock: it normally allows 40 seconds after a down, or 25 seconds after specified administrative stoppages. Failure to start in time brings a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty. A runner going out of bounds does not always keep the clock stopped until the next snap.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. Independent summaries of the supplied NFL 2026 rulebook; NCAA and IFAF rules may differ. The comparison covers standard 15-a-side rugby union.
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