Too many men on the field

If the team has more than 11 players on the field, it violates the rules of fair play. This situation happens, for example, when the team fails to remove the replaced players or if the player on the bench appears suddenly to help the team.

This rule works in different ways for the offense and defense. The offensive violation is more known as too many men in the huddle. In the case of the absence, the offense could change the formation and the defenders hadn’t enough time to respond. But the referee will call the foul when the quarterback keeps 12 players for more than 3 seconds. The offense will get five yards for that. The play dies immediately.

The defense may also touch the penalty. Unlike the first option, the play continues because the offence can gain more benefits than the penalty. The officials throw the flag, preventing further flow from negative outcomes like turnovers. The offense declines the penalty when they score the TD in these obstacles because the touchdown is more beneficial.