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American Football

What is a timeout in American football and how do coaches use them?

What is a timeout in American football and how do coaches use them?Getty
Timeouts always play a crucial part in American football games.

How teams manage the clock is a vital part of any NFL game. 

Managing the clock can decide who will be declared the winner come the end of the fourth quarter and NFL teams can often try to manipulate the game clock to their advantage by using a timeout. 

But what is a timeout and how do NFL coaches use them? DAZN explains below. 

What is a timeout and why do teams use them? 

A timeout occurs when a team stops the game clock.

During a timeout, teams have the opportunity to rest, make substitutions and go over game strategy. 

Timeouts can also be used to try and throw off an opponent's kicker in certain situations. 

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Who can call a timeout? 

A coach or player on the field is responsible for calling timeouts during a game. 

How many timeouts do teams have in an NFL game?

In any NFL game, each team is given three timeouts per half. 

If a team has any timeouts remaining at the end of the first half, these do not carry over to the second half. 

If a game goes to overtime, both teams will be given two timeouts regardless of how many they ended the game with. 

How long are timeouts? 

Timeouts in the NFL last for two minutes. 

However, timeouts are not allowed to be used twice in a row on the same scrimmage down in an attempt to delay the game clock even further. 

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