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Guide to a Fantasy Footballs Scoring System and How a Winner is Chosen

Fantasy football is a competition normally played by football fans in which they draft their own team and compete with other teams created by other fans. Just like real football games, this fantasy game is a season-long competition. Winners of this game are settled by points made by the performance of real football players on that same day.

Categories of the scoring system

In fantasy football, the scoring system is a way of converting a players statistics into fantasy points. There are different types of scoring categories and these include:

receiving yards
passing yards
rushing yards
touchdowns
interceptions
receptions
fumbles lost, and
two point conversions

Bonus points can also be earned through yardage benchmarks with a 300-yard passing in one game and a 100-yard in receiving or rushing. Kickers may also be able to gather points through the field goals they made and other extra points. Oftentimes, there are bonuses given to players with longer field goals. For the team in defense, scoring categories include:

yards allowed
points allowed
fumble recoveries
interceptions, and
returns for touchdowns

Moreover, in every defensive player, he shall be able to gain points in his:

forced fumbles
fumble recoveries
passes defended
touchdowns
tackles
assists
safeties, and
sacks

How points are earned

Players in a fantasy game earn a number of points according to what he had done. These are the number of points a player earns:

touchdowns, touchdowns which are results of a passing play, or a quarterback can earn a total of six points
field goals can earn three points but may be added one or two points if field goals get longer.
two-point conversion earns a player two points
after touchdowns earns a kicker an extra point
ten yards rushing, ten yards receiving or twenty-five yards passing earns an offensive player one point

While on defense, the score of a team is generally based on the number of points they have given up, plus the bonus points they got from turnovers, sacks, and the defensive touchdowns scored. Turnovers usually provide two points each and sacks add one more point to a teams score. A safety earns a defensive team a two-point bonus.

How the scoring system works

The scoring system of fantasy leagues has used different categories. Points gained in both teams also vary from one category to another. While most leagues use decimals in scoring, others normally round points to whole numbers. One of the most important things to remember when an owner plays for his team is to evaluate and be knowledgeable on how the scoring system works during the start of the season to determine the players who can score well. There are generally three types of scoring systems: Bonus, Basic and IDP.

How a team works its way to become a seasons winner

Fantasy leagues mostly make use of a head-to-head format in playing. The teams schedule is set before the first season begins. During the first week, one team should be able to face another team and must play against one team in the remaining weeks. Normally, a fantasy season lasts for seventeen weeks. To be able to know the number of points gathered by a team, they must submit their lineup and they shall receive points the way the players performed during that week. The team who scores the most number of points wins for that week.

When the season is nearing its end, the top teams during the past weeks will advance to the playoffs. Teams who won during the division games are guaranteed a spot and although there are wildcard teams who can also advance as well, situations like these rarely happen. The top four teams during the final four weeks of the regular season will have to play against each other for the league championship. Teams who were not able to make it to the finals compete for the consolation bracket. In cases of ties, tiebreaking rules are specified in a leagues rules. The team who earns the most number of points during the season wins.