Possession (sports) opportunity to score. In bat-and-ball games including baseball and cricket, the ball is controlled by the fielding team, which are on defense. In several sports, possession is exchanged after the offensive team scores, or when the defensive team physically takes control of a "live" (in play) ball through a fumble, interception, or steal. In gridiron football, possession is additionally controlled through a series of allotted plays called downs, over which the offensive team must move the ball a certain distance down the field, or lose possession. Possession at the start of a game, or in a neutral restart, may be
Sudden death (sport) field goal. An overtime game can also be won by scoring a touchdown (in such an event, the extra point is not attempted). This usually happened on a play that began with field position far enough away from the end zone to make a field goal difficult if not impossible, but it can also result from a team choosing not to attempt a field goal until reaching fourth down, even if the team enters an easy field goal range; this strategy only works if the team can maintain possession of the ball and does not fumble the ball away, throw