<s>[INST] how long does an American football match REALLY last, if you substract all the downtime? [/INST] An American football game is scheduled to last for four quarters, each of which is 15 minutes long. However, due to various stoppages and delays, the actual amount of time that the ball is in play during a game is much lower. According to a study by The Wall Street Journal, the average NFL game lasts for about three hours and 12 minutes, but only about 11 minutes of that time is actual gameplay.

The rest of the time is taken up by commercial breaks, replays, timeouts, and other stoppages. The study found that the average amount of time the ball is in play during a game is just 11 minutes, and the average length of a play is just four seconds.

So, if you subtract all the downtime, the actual playing time of an American football game is relatively short - just 11 minutes on average. However, the total length of the game is much longer due to all the stoppages and delays.</s>