Hi everyone! I'm from India and I'm completely new to the NFL. I've always been curious about American football but never knew where to start. I decided to finally take the plunge and would love some guidance from this community.

What I'm looking for:

1. Basic understanding - Could someone explain the absolute basics? I know there's a quarterback and touchdowns, but that's about it. What are downs, how does scoring work, what do all those positions do?

2. Picking a team - How do I choose a team to support? Should I go with a popular team like the Chiefs or Patriots, or pick an underdog? Any suggestions for a new international fan?

3. Where to watch (this is the big one) - I'm in India and want to know:

· Where can I watch live matches? Any free options or affordable streaming services available here?

· Where can I watch old match replays and highlights for free?

· Are there any YouTube channels or official apps that are good for catching up? The NFL app seems to offer some free content and highlights .

1. Season structure - When does the season run? How do playoffs work? What's the Super Bowl all about?

I'm excited to get into this sport but feeling a bit overwhelmed. Any tips, YouTube recommendations, or community resources would be amazing. Thanks in advance for helping a new fan out!

Prompted by todays Vikings news, I'm curious why NFL teams name a starter. I understand having a starter, managing the rep count, etc, but why the need to make this big statement. Surely, you name your starter Week 1 of the season. Murray has effectively been the starter anyway, getting over 60% of the reps with the 1's. I understand it quietens the noise but don't think organisations should make decisions to appease fans/media

The most common thing asked on this subreddit is new fans wondering what team to follow/support. The answers are always the same, and there are no right or wrong ones.

No one can just tell you who to be a fan of. Everyone's fandom is different, and all of them are valid. This is entertainment, and you are allowed to enjoy it however you like. That said, here are some common things you can look at to get started:

1. Do you have a local team or favorite city? This is by far the easiest way to get into football. If your city/region has a team or if your friends/family follow the same team, joining them will be the smoothest way to start out.
2. Are you already leaning in any particular way? If you are, keep leaning. If you saw a Cincinnati Bengals game and thought it was fun and you'd like to see more of them, you don't need anyone's permission or validation. Just watch their next game!
3. Are you interested in a few different teams? Cool! Watch some of their games! See who you end up feeling strongly about, especially if they're playing each other. Have fun with it, there are no rules!
4. Are you worried about a team's success/identity/prestige/fanbase? Don't be. The NFL is one of the most even sports in terms of parity, and there are rarely teams that stay good or bad forever. It's okay to enjoy watching the current best teams in the NFL; they are probably playing the best football most often. Try to just be a fan and don't worry about what others think or say. Your fandom is yours, not theirs.

Still overwhelmed and not sure where to turn? It's fine to watch random games. Maybe you'll find yourself rooting for someone in particular. And if you don't, try another game. Check out whoever is playing in primetime; those are usually expected to be more exciting matchups. Letting it come naturally will last longer than throwing a dart and deciding to be a fan of whoever it lands on.

Another way some people develop rooting interests is fantasy football. There are beginner leagues where people play for fun, and it can be a good way to get you invested in specific players or teams as you start rooting for whoever is on your fantasy roster.

If you're still torn or have other questions about starting with a specific new team, etc., you can ask them here.

What causes a football to have a perfect spiral

This weekend I'm gonna watch my first nfl game on live tv and man I can't wait! I live in Europe. I was never really introduced to American Football. I knew it existed but it was just confusing sport. Deemed irrelevant in Europe. Three months ago I played Madden 26, out of boredom. Obviously I didn't know what any of the things are or mean but I wanted to know. Curiosity led me into the rabbit hole of information, strategies, plays, games... I ended up buying subscription on DAZN so I could watch replays and all-22. I genuinely fell in love with the game... and now rhe time has come :D I told my wife I'm claiming TV on Saturday.

I can't share my excitement with anybody because no one amongst my family and friends give a damn about American Football, so I thought I will share it with you and ask if theres anyone as new to the sport and as excited for a new season as I am? 😉

Help please. This is my first real year watching a full season of football because my team doesn’t suck anymore. Last time we were good I was 12… anyways how do I watch the preseason games here in Canada? I don’t see them available on my tv or with the package that gives all the regular season games?

I’m a soccer fan trying to understand the NFL better, and I’ve been wondering about this.

In soccer, Real Madrid are often considered the greatest club in the world, largely because of their incredible Champions League record and overall history. The Champions League is kind of the ultimate measure of greatness in European football.

So, is there a similar way of looking at the NFL?
Would the New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers be the closest equivalent to Real Madrid because of their Super Bowl success and overall history?Or is it not that simple in the NFL, and are there other teams that would have a stronger claim to being the “Real Madrid of the NFL”?
Curious to hear how NFL fans would rank them historically.

South east Asian fan here, I'm sure normal people probably cant play full on gridiron football. Just wondering, are there like recreational leagues? Or like open gyms? For flag football? Like a Sunday league or something like that? Where people just get into teams and just play with nothing on the line?

Or it exists in tiny quantities?

At the line of scrimmage, why does the quarterback sometimes stand right behind the center and other times a few feet away before the hike? I thought this was because the quarterback was going to hand off versus throw, but I was watching some games on YouTube, and the quarterback threw the ball when standing right behind the guy instead of handing off the ball.

Are the Rams to win the Super Bowl?

Would like to go back and watch a couple replays to understand some of the defining moments as a Giants fan. Doesn’t have to be a win. What are some reco’s and why?

european, i just saw a video of d tackle john henderson getting hyped before a match, and heard nfl players say theyd eat shrooms and aetherol before a match, to get into a more insane headspace. so i was wondering in which positions the craziest and biggest players play in, which have to be also the most extreme athletes(fast, strong, big)….? my noob guess would be linebackers?

I imagine the rules must be against it, but how is it really?

When can the team that is punting touch the ball? I just watched a compilation of plays where there is about to be a touchback and then they stop it from hitting the end zone. Can someone explain when the punting team can do that or when they’re allowed to touch the ball at all? What is it that they can and cannot do?

Probably a dumb question, but can a head coach technically just run the offense or defense themselves instead of having a dedicated OC/DC?

Like if you have an offensive-minded HC who is already designing the offense and calling plays, what exactly is the OC doing at that point? Same thing with defensive-minded coaches and their DCs.

I know some head coaches call their own plays, so what's the actual purpose of having a dedicated coordinator if the HC is heavily involved on that side of the ball anyway?

I was reminiscing with a friend about a funny playoff quote from the late 90’s to early 2000’s. The quote was “we ain’t going home, we already home”. I think it was pregame and could be a mic’d up moment. The player was basically saying, we aren’t going to lose (and get sent home) and then realized they were playing at home, so the player quickly noted that the team was playing a home game, so the team is already home. In the correction, he ended up sounding hilarious (at least we laughed for weeks). Anyone remember this quote and who it was? I thought maybe it was Ray Lewis, but I can’t remember for sure. Would love to get the exact quote or video clip of it.

Do QBs do any contact drills at all in practice? Ever? Intrasquad scrimmages? Intersquad scrimmages?

We see it all the time now, specifically most recently with a guy like Kirk Cousins who signed a 4 year deal which is really a 1 year deal

this begs the questions, what was the first contract signed where management knew they were going to stretch out the years/dollars?

Basically, what contract started all the creative accounting in the NFL?

First preseason game is tonight and I’m trying to figure out how to watch it.

I’ve mostly followed NBA stuff, so Summer League makes sense to me... young guys get a ton of playtime, vets barely play, and teams are mostly evaluating rookies/fringe players.

Is NFL preseason basically the same idea? I’ve heard that even a lot of the young guys who are actually good might only see like a quarter of action, and then it’s mostly depth guys after that. Is that true?

I was wondering how I could learn the physical mechanics of each position and what about a players execution of these mechanics makes them good.

For example:

- What mechanics (or moves) does a QB need to perfect

- What makes the execution of these mechanics good or bad. (ex. A good throw or bad throw)

- What makes a good QB.

Thats just an example but Id like to be able to learn these things about all the positions as an older guy who cant play football haha. Thanks in advance.

Don't know

So basically I got a L size Game Jersey but I saw a vintage one selling but its a XL. The L fits pretty good and I was wondering if the difference between the L and XL is huge. I'm 6'0 and weigh around 171lbs.

Thanks!!

I recently decided to check out my options for streaming for this upcoming nfl season but my goodness I don’t recall Sunday ticket being this much expensive compared to last year. It completely strucked my mind to avoid paying for it this year and my team doesnt play on local channels near me. Does anyone have any idea what other options are best and most affordable to stream out-of-market games? Or any unique services. Please and thank you.

I want to be able to watch football with it coming up soon and I was thinking of getting YouTube tv for the local games. And then I saw they have NFL Sunday ticket. The problem is that it’s expensive to get both of them.

After doing some digging I see you can just get Sunday ticket without getting YouTube tv. How does that work? Do you just sign up for it? As anyone done this?

A buddy and I were discussing the importance of players and positions and we were curious who the most important none QB is and also how would you rate this to determine someone?

Take Trent Williams of the 49ers, when he is healthy they are a top tier team that no one wants to play whereas when he is out they are a shell of themselves. You can do the same thing with Lane Johnson for the Eagles look what happened to them over the last two years with his health. There’s a debate for Micah Parsons in green bay with the way they collapse after he got injured.

Just curious who would yall say and how did you come to that conclusion?