National Football League

NFL Challenge Rules: How many challenges does each team get?

Published Jan. 24, 2025 11:01 a.m. ET

The NFL challenge system is essential for ensuring accurate on-field decisions, but its rules can be complex. With high-stakes moments often relying on split-second calls, understanding when and how teams can challenge plays is crucial. Keep reading to find out more about the NFL challenge rules.

How many challenges does each NFL team get per game?

Each team begins with two challenges, with the possibility of gaining a third if certain conditions are met. To receive the third challenge, the team or head coach must at least one of its initial challenges.

A challenge can only be made if the team still has timeouts left. Once a team runs out of timeouts in a half, they are no longer allowed to challenge any plays for the rest of that half.

In the last two minutes of each half, all challenges are initiated by the replay official. Outside this time, the following types of plays are automatically reviewed:

Any play resulting in a score
Turnovers, including interceptions, fumbles, backward passes recovered by the opposing team, and muffed punts legally recovered by the kicking team
Failed fourth-down attempts. A successful fourth-down conversion still requires a challenge from the coach unless it occurs in the final two minutes of a half or overtime.
Player ejections

There is no limit to the number of official replays, and these are initiated by either the replay official or an official from the command center in New York. Teams' timeouts are not a factor in these reviews. Any review—whether initiated by a coach’s challenge or an official review—must occur before the next play is run.

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What happens if you lose a challenge?

If a coach’s challenge is unsuccessful, the team will lose a timeout. This is why teams cannot challenge plays if they have no timeouts remaining. If the first two challenges are unsuccessful, the team will be ineligible to receive a third challenge for the game.

When are challenges not allowed in an NFL game?

The intricacies of the NFL's challenge rules come into play when determining when teams are allowed or not allowed to challenge. The basic guidelines are straightforward: a team cannot challenge if they don’t have a challenge available or if they’ve run out of timeouts.

However, certain on-field decisions dictate whether a challenge is allowed under NFL rules. The following situations are not reviewable:

All fouls (except for too many players on the field)
The spot of the ball and the runner
Runners ruled down by contact or out of bounds (unless involving a fumble or line-to-gain situation)
The ball’s position, except when determining a first down or goal line
Whether a runner's forward progress was stopped before going out of bounds or losing possession of the ball
Whether a runner gave himself up

As well, these miscellaneous situations are not reviewable:

Field goals or extra points crossing above the uprights without touching anything
An erroneous whistle
Whether a player was blocked into a loose ball
The spot where an airborne ball crossed the sideline
Whether a player advanced the ball after a fair catch
Whether a player caused the ball to enter the end zone

If an NFL head coach challenges a play that is not reviewable, the team will lose a timeout.

When are challenges allowed in an NFL game?

The following plays are listed as reviewable:

Possession-related plays
Plays involving the ball or the ground
Goal-line situations
Plays near the sidelines, line of scrimmage or line to gain
The number of players on the field at the time of the snap, even if no foul is called

Game administration aspects are also reviewable, including: