Turnover on downs

In American football, a turnover on downs occurs when a team fails to convert a fourth down into a first down by gaining the required yardage.

A team has four chances (each chance is called a "down") to gain ten yards or to score. Any ground gained during one down short of these ten yards is kept for the next chance. Thus, if a team gains four yards on first down, it then has three chances to gain the six remaining yards. If a team gains the required ten yards, it receives another four downs to gain another ten yards (an event called a "first down") or cross the goal line for a score.

Though teams have four chances, in most cases, only three are used. Usually, if a team fails to gain the needed yardage after the third down, it will then punt the ball, offering the opposing team possession, or attempt to kick a field goal if close enough. The opposing team will start their new set of downs to wherever the punt returner can advance the ball prior to being tackled, or where the punt comes to rest, after rolling to a stop.

But in some instances, a team may elect to use its fourth down to try to gain the yardage, rather than punt. This is often referred to as "going for it" or "sticking" (as opposed to "kicking"). Factors that may lead to a team making this choice are:
 * Only a small distance is needed to gain a first down
 * A team is close to, but not within field goal range
 * The game's end is near, and if the team surrenders possession of the ball, they may not have another chance to score what is needed to win or tie the game.
 * The game's end is near, and if the team is in field goal range but is trailing such that a field goal would not tie or win the game, but a touchdown would.
 * Occasionally, a team trailing by exactly one field goal's points will elect to attempt a conversion if tying the game on a field goal and going into overtime instead is undesirable for the team.

"Going for it" has a disadvantage in that if the fourth-down conversion attempt fails, the opposing team will immediately take possession of the ball, thus causing a turnover on downs.