<P> The red zone is an unofficial designating the portion of the field between the 20 - yard line and the goal line . Due to the goalposts' being on the goal line in Canadian football, teams must avoid hitting the goalposts . Thus most touchdown throws are aimed away from the centre portion of the end zone . In the CFL, the goalposts have the same construction as the NFL posts, with the centre post being about 2 yards deep in the end zone . It is extremely rare for CFL passes to hit any part of the posts . When this occurs, a dead ball results . Occasionally, receivers can use the post to good effect in a' rub' play to shed a defender . End zone passing becomes even more complicated when the corners of the end zone are truncated, as is the case at stadia where the field is bounded by a running track . However, the offensive team enjoys a counteracting advantage of end zones more than twice the size of those in American football (20 yards with a wider field), significantly expanding the area that must be covered by the defensive team and also allowing the freedom to run some pass patterns not available in American football's red zone . Moreover, the rule requiring only a single foot to be in bounds upon pass reception in Canadian football further stretches the amount of area that the offenses have to work with . NFL offenses invariably try a run between tackles when on the one - yard line (disastrous exceptions like the final play of the first half of Super Bowl XLIII, and Seattle's final offensive play of Super Bowl XLIX certainly exist). CFL offenses make similar attempts on first down on the one - yard line, but second and third down attempts, if required, can be much more varied than their NFL counterparts . </P> <P> The frequency of punts is highly dependent upon the success, or lack thereof, of the offense . Punt returns are ubiquitous in Canadian football because the "no - yards" rule permits virtually every punt to be fielded and returned . Moreover, if the kicking team punts the ball out of bounds in an attempt to forestall a return and the ball goes out of bounds between the two 20 - yard lines, a 10 - yard penalty is assessed and the ball advanced from where it left play, or the kicking team is backed up 10 yards and must replay the down . "Shanked" punts are therefore extremely costly to the kicking team . Missed field goals may be returned, and TSN on - air analysts state that they are the single play - from - scrimmage most likely to result in a touchdown . This set of special teams (field goal return units) are completely absent from the American game . Canadian kickoffs rarely result in a touchback, so special teams are more prominent in that area of the game as well . The difference in the games' final minutes procedures make comebacks--and the need for an onside kick' hands' team, more prominent as well . The rule regarding last touch of the ball before leaving the play of field, rather than American football's last possession rule, makes the onside kick more likely to be successful as well . The most complex coaching job in Canadian football is said to be that of special teams co-ordinator . As many as 40 of a CFL roster of players may have a special teams role because of the wide variety of possible situations . In 2014 and 2015, the Edmonton Eskimos even used their third - string quarterbacks (Pat White in 2014 and Jordan Lynch in 2015) as part of their kick and kick - coverage teams . This is highly unusual, as quarterbacks are generally discouraged from making contact plays . Kick returning was a duty generally handled by a player with another role, such as receiver or defensive back . Henry "The Gizmo" Williams was the first player designated by telecasts as "KR" for a kicker returner position as his duties were almost entirely for that role, and referring to him as "WR" for wide receiver was increasingly seen as anachronistic . By far the greatest kick returner in professional football history, Gizmo Williams had more returns for touchdowns called back for infractions than any other player has ever scored (28--26 punts, 2 kick - offs). No NFL player has enjoyed similar success and the careers of such specialists (like Devin Hester) come nowhere near to matching the impact on the game that such players have in the CFL . </P> <P> Having three downs on a much longer and wider field with unlimited backfield motion results in Canadian teams requiring faster, more nimble athletes (comparatively) than their American counterparts . Paradoxically, this makes Canadian defense better at defending rushing plays . Rushing plays tend to be unlikely to produce a full ten yard gain, and if correctly anticipated by the defense, much gain at all . The fewer downs means that an unsuccessful rushing play leaves an offense to have a single play to make comparatively longer first down yardage, so rushing plays are less - favored unless the team on offense is actively managing the clock while maintaining the lead . Pundits often like to claim that a Canadian team that rushes for 100 yards or more per game is likely to win, but the reality is winning teams rush the ball in defense of their leads, and not as a tactic to produce drives that lead to points unless they are markedly superior to their opponents . The larger field generally permits greater YAC (yards after catch) on each individual catch, where the NFL produces passing plays where there are either very few YAC yards (immediate tackle) or huge YAC yards (missed tackle or broken coverage for huge gains .) For this reason, Canadian teams usually prefer passing over rushing to a greater extent than American, since pass attempts generally tend to gain more yards than rushing . Offensive drives (continuous possession of the ball) tend to be shorter . Long drives of half a quarter or more are common in American football but rare in Canadian . In theory, an NFL team taking possession on their own one - yard line, using three downs for each first - down conversion and the full 40 second clock could run 27 plays and consume a full 18 minutes of clock time covering the 99 yards . A CFL team doing something similar (two plays per conversion, 20 second clock, average 10 seconds of clock time while the officials reset the ball between plays, 109 yards) would run 24 plays and consume 12 minutes of clock at the most . Typical drive lengths in practice reflect this theoretical difference . </P> <P> One other notable difference is the propensity of CFL quarterbacks to rush the ball, both by design and as a result of reacting to the defense . Damon Allen (the younger brother of NFL Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen) had 11,920 rushing yards to go along with 72,381 passing yards in his 23 - year career and actually sits third overall in career rushing yards . Contrast that will Randall Cunnigham's 4928 yards over 16 seasons . 1000 yard rushing seasons for CFL quarterbacks have occurred, and 400 + yard seasons for playoff bound teams' starting quarterbacks, if they remain healthy for the entire schedule, are not unusual . </P>

What are the differences between nfl and cfl