This group will generally follow the NFLFlag, 5 on 5 rules, but due to the casual nature of this group, if the group consensus on any meetup day is to scrap the rules and just play old-school backyard football at the park, we can do that. The only requirement is it has to be two-hand touch football.
The first rule of two-hand touch football is pretty straight forward: there's no contact allowed aside from two-hand touching. That includes tackling, diving, blocking, pushing, and screening. Instead, to "tackle" the person in possession of the ball, the opposing team needs to touch the ball carrying player with two hands at the same time, from a single player.
While two hand touch football is considered to be even more casual than flag football, you'll find that it also creates an engaging, fast-paced version of football without the flags or other physical contact.
Official Game Rules
- All passes must be forward and received beyond the line of scrimmage.
- Direct handoffs as well as unlimited backward pitches and passes are allowed behind the line of scrimmage. No backwards passes or direct handoffs are allowed past the line of scrimmage.
- The quarterback has 7 seconds, from receiving the snap, to release the ball. Once a backwards handoff, pass or lateral occurs, the 7 second rule goes away and the offense has an unlimited amount of time to throw a forward pass.
- The player receiving the snap (QB) cannot run across the line of scrimmage with the ball. The QB can hand off or pitch/throw the ball backwards to a teammate and then catch a forward pass across the line of scrimmage.
- Offensive players must steer clear of the rusher and may not get in his/her way.
- A maximum of 2 designated defensive rushers may legally rush the quarterback. All designated rushers must identify themselves, with their hand raised until the snap, to legally rush from the 7 yard rush line. Designated rushers are not obligated to rush, but if they do, they must rush immediately upon the ball being snapped.
- Once the ball is handed off, pitched or thrown backwards by the offense, all defenders are eligible to rush across the line of scrimmage.
- Interceptions are returnable for 6 pts. during a scrimmage down or for 2 pts on any extra point attempt. A backwards pass intercepted in the air, behind the line of scrimmage, can also be advanced by the defense for a score.
- The ball is dead when it hits the ground, the offensive player's touched with two hands, the ball-carrier steps out of bounds, or the ball-carrier's body, outside of their hands or feet, touches the ground.
- All offensive football penalties result in a loss of down and yardage.
- All defensive football penalties result in an automatic first down and some are associated with yardage.
Field Dimensions
To accommodate a smaller team size, our football field dimensions will be shorter than a typical football field. Ours will be roughly 30 yards wide and 70 yards long, with two 10-yard end zones and a midfield line-to-gain.
There are no kickoffs in our group. Games are two 15 minute halves, and the clock only stops for injuries, 3 min half-time, and timeouts (each team has one 60-second timeout per half).
The starting team begins on its own 5-yard line and has four downs (essentially four plays) to cross midfield for a first down. If the offense fails to advance after three tries, they have two options on 4th down: they can "punt," which means they simply turn the ball over to the opposing team who starts its drive from its own 5-yard line, or they can go for it. But if they still fail to cross midfield, the opposing team takes over possession from the spot of the ball.
If the offensive team crosses midfield, they have three downs to score a touchdown. The offensive team cannot run the ball within 5 yards of the 1st down line or their end zone to score.
The rules of two hand touch football differ slightly from tackle when it comes to scoring: a touchdown is 6 points and a safety is 2 points (1-point conversion from the 5-yard line; 2-point conversion from the 10-yard line).
Offense
Typically, teams set up in a formation with these 5 positions:
- Quarterback
- Center
- Wide receivers, running backs, or a mix of both
The center does not have to hike in between their legs. They can hike the ball facing the quarterback on 1 knee. After hiking the ball to the quarterback, the center is considered a receiver and eligible for a pass past the line of scrimmage.
The quarterback cannot scramble (run past the line of scrimmage) after the hike.
There are no motions allowed.
Blocking is not allowed in the sense of using your hands to block a player, however you can run and block a defender's path with your body without contact, except for a player rushing the quarterback. They cannot be blocked in any way.
For example offensive formations in 5 on 5, visit the NFLFlag website here: https://nflflag.com/coaches/flag-football-rules/5-on-5-flag-football-playbook
Defense
There are two positions on defense: rushers and defensive backs.
Rushers try to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible, while defensive backs line up to face wide receivers, or even farther back as safeties.
Rushers must start 7 yards from the quarterback, and they must designate themselves as rushers by raising their hand until the ball is hiked.
On any play there can be up to two rushers.
For example defensive formations in 5 on 5, visit the NFLFlag website here: https://nflflag.com/coaches/default/flag-football-rules/5-on-5-flag-football-defense