One play is one down.
down
In football, you have 4 down or attemps to get so many yards, a third down conversion is where you failed to get the amount of yards on first down and second down then reach it on the third, making it first down again
In the Canadian Football League, a team has three plays to make a first down. In the National Football League, a team has four plays to make a first down.
In American football, a down is a play. A team has four plays to advance the ball 10 yards. If they are able to advance the ball 10 yards, they are given another four plays to get another 10 yards. If they are not able to advance the ball 10 yards in four plays, the other team gains possession of the ball. When you hear the term 'first down' that means the upcoming play is the first play in the series of four the team has to advance the ball 10 yards. 'Second down' is the second play in the series of four, 'third down' is the third play in the series of four, and 'fourth down' is the fourth play in the series of four.
When I played, first and second down were mostly runs. Third and fourth downs were pass plays. A really good play that fooled everyone was a well executed play action.
'Third down back' is a term in football for a running back that comes into the game in passing situations. He is an excellent pass receiver that runs good routes. If the team is in a third down and long yardage situation they are almost always going to run a passing play.
tackle (football, soccer) touchdown (football) touchback (football) technical (foul) time-out third down (football) third quarter third base (baseball) third baseman third-string triple lutz (figure skating) triple (a three-base hit in baseball) triple jump triple-A ball (minor league baseball) three-second violation (basketball) toothless (like a hockey player) T-ball trifecta tennis tennis-elbow tendonitis throw throw in (soccer)
in American football, to take care of the football field is to always have good field position. (to punt it when its fourth down and you're on your 25 yrd. line) and most simply make plays using your surroundings.
In American football, four. In Canadian football, three.
The plural form of the noun down is downs. This would include uses such as US football plays, or declines, but only rarely the use that means "feathers" (which is a mass noun).
It refers to a third baseman who plays very close to the 3rd base line. He may do this to cut back on doubles down the line or simply because the batter typically hits the ball down the line.