What it is

The two-minute warning is an automatic timeout that happens when the game clock reaches two minutes in the second and fourth quarters of an NFL game.

In a game

It gives both teams a chance to plan and the TV networks a chance to show ads. It also lets a team stop the clock without using a timeout of its own.

More detail

The break changes late-game decisions, because a team knows the clock will stop at two minutes. College football does not have this rule.