This “3.4 Yards” Rule Makes Hitting Your Goals 10X Easier

The Big Plays Aren’t Necessary

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Vincent Van Gogh

I first heard about the “3.4 yards per play,” philosophy way back in the early 2000s in my pee-wee football era. However, it wasn’t until I heard it again recently from Ryan Munsey in his new book “F*ck Your Feelings,” that it hit home for me in a bigger picture way.

Let me explain the concept like you aren’t a football fan.

In a standard American football game, when on offense, each team gets 4 plays to move the ball forward 10 yards.

If they get 10 yards or more within these 4 plays, the downs reset and they get 4 more plays to try and repeat the process again. If they repeat this without being stopped, they will eventually score. If they don’t get the 10 yards in 4 plays, they usually punt the ball to the other team or turn it over on downs.

Assuming that teams will punt (kick the ball to the other team deeper down the field) on 4th down if they’re short of the 10 yards to gain, a team needs only to achieve 3.4 yards per play to end up in the end-zone (6 points) every single time.