Game Possessions

updated February 10, 2025

Football games are contested between two teams as a series of alternating possessions. The vast majority of game possessions consist of one or more offensive scrimmage plays in which the team in control of the ball attempts to advance it in order to score while its opponent attempts to deny that effort. Less frequent possession types include defensive, special teams, and overtime possessions.

From 2007 to 2024, games between FBS opponents averaged 26.1 total possessions with a median total of 26 possessions per game (13 for each team). The chart below illustrates the distribution of possession counts per game over the 18-season span (13,322 games played between FBS opponents).

Styles of play favored by certain teams can lend themselves to outlier game possession totals, but several significant changes in game and play clock rules have impacted the sport as a whole. New rules in 2008 instituted a 40-second play clock and eliminated clock stoppages on out-of-bounds plays. In 2023, a new rule eliminated clock stoppages on first downs. Rule changes in combination with pace of play trends have impacted the average number of possessions per game over the last 18 seasons.

In 2014, 45.3% of games between FBS opponents had at least 28 total game possessions and 20.9% of games had fewer than 24 possessions. Ten years later it was effectively the opposite -- 44.7% of games in 2024 had fewer than 24 possessions and 19.8% of games had at least 28 possessions.

Games with very few possessions generally feature long drives by methodical, ball-control offenses that drain the game clock between snaps. Games with many possessions feature frequent game clock stoppages, often due to a combination of incomplete passes, three-and-outs, and quick scoring drives. Overtime games also tally up extra possessions.