Canada and the United States that share a lot in common but still differ in quirky but meaningful ways. This, too, goes for their two respective brands of football.
Below is a list of 16 differences from the NFL to the CFL. Some of them you're probably already aware of, some of them you aren't, and some of them are fake. No peeking at the fake rules until you get to the bottom, eh?
1. Twelve men on a team. The additional man is a back who is an eligible receiver
2. The defense must line up one yard off the line of scrimmage
3. Each team gets one re-do play per game
4. There are three downs instead of four to achieve 10 yards
5. Field is 65 yards wide compared to 53 1/3
6. Field is 110 yards long
7. End Zones are 20 yards deep
8. Holding the opponent scoreless on three consecutive possessions grants a team one extra timeout per half
9. Twenty second play clock after referee signal
10. Line of scrimmage for a convert is the 25 yard line
11. A gain of 40 yards or more allows a team a first-and-5 on its next snap instead of a first-and-10
12. A fumbled ball may be kicked in any direction by either team
13.If a kicked ball goes out of bounds it is awarded to the team that did not kick it
14. A fumbled ball, which goes out of bounds, is awarded to the team who last touched it in bounds
15.Itโs not grounding if the ball crosses the line of scrimmage even if there is not a wide receiver there
16. All eligible receivers can be in motion prior to the snap. Receivers on the line of scrimmage can move up and down the line of scrimmage
Allow Trey Wingo to explain:
And, in case you haven't figured it out yet, rules three, eight and 11 are fake. Very, very fake.