<P> If the try or convert is scored by kicking the ball through the uprights, the team gets an additional one point for their touchdown, bringing their total for that score from six points to seven . If two points are needed or desired, a two - point conversion may be attempted by running or passing from scrimmage . A successful touchdown conversion brings the score's total to eight . </P> <P> Whether a team goes for one or two points, most rules regarding scrimmage downs, including scoring touchdowns and field goals, apply as if it were a normal American fourth - down or Canadian third - down play . Exceptions, including cases where the defense forces a turnover during a conversion attempt, vary between leagues and levels of play . One thing that sets the try apart from other plays in the NFL is that, apart from the actual points, ordinary statistics are not recorded on the try as they would be on a regular scrimmage play . For example, on December 4, 2016, Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs made an interception on a try and physically returned it 99 yards for a defensive two - point conversion . However, because it occurred on a try, Berry did not get statistical credit for the 99 yards of return yardage . Nor would a player ever be credited with passing, rushing, or receiving yardage on a try . </P> <P> The try / convert is among the oldest parts of the game of gridiron football and dates to its rugby roots . In its earliest days, scoring a touchdown was not the primary objective but a means of getting a free kick at the goal (hence why the name "try", more commonly associated with rugby today, is still used in American football rule books), and thus early scoring rubrics for the game gave more points to the subsequent kick than the actual advancement of the ball over the goal line . The related term "conversion" is still used in both rugby union and rugby league to refer to extra points scored by kicking the ball through the posts after a try has been scored . </P> <P> By the start of the 20th century, touchdowns had become more important and the roles of touchdown and kick were reversed . By this time the point value for the after - touchdown kick had reduced to its current one - point value while the touchdown was now worth five . (This later increased to six points in American football in 1912 and in Canadian football in 1956 .) </P>

When was the extra point added to football
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