Grade 3 Football Subtraction Worksheet + Answer Key

This free Grade 3 football subtraction worksheet uses real Seahawks and Patriots statistics to practice subtraction within 1,000. It is part 5 of LitZone's eight-part football math series. The student PDF has 10 questions on one page, with a separate one-page answer key. Both carry the LitZone logo and are free for home, homeschool and classroom use.

Download the student worksheet (PDF)

Download the separate answer key (PDF)

Download all eight student worksheets (PDF) | Download all eight answer keys (PDF)

Print the student page on US Letter paper at actual size, or use fit-to-page on A4. Keep the answer key separate. A pencil and an eraser are enough; the graph activity also benefits from a ruler. Start with a short conversation about the skill, then let the child work at a comfortable pace. No account, email address or payment is needed to download these printables.

The real game behind the worksheet

Seattle played New England on February 8, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in California. Seattle won Super Bowl LX, 29-13. SEA means Seattle; NE means New England. These are historical results from the official NFL gamebook, not September 2026 results, forecasts or current roster claims. Player abbreviations show the teams they represented in that game. A carry is a run with the ball; a catch is also called a reception. Yardage tells us how much distance was credited to a player or team.

The game provides the numbers, but students do not need to have watched it. Read the directions together and identify what each number measures before starting. Keep yards, catches and scoreboard points distinct: a yard total is not a point total.

Find the missing part of a team total

The table gives a team's yards and the combined yards credited to everyone except one named player. Students subtract the rest-of-team amount to recover the missing player's yards. Every row refers to one game, one team and one stat type. The rest-of-team figures are calculated from the official totals; they are not additional box-score categories invented by the child.

Model the structure with Cooper Kupp's receiving row. Seattle's receivers totaled 202 yards, and the other receivers accounted for 141. Draw a long bar labeled 202. Divide it into a known section labeled 141 and an unknown section labeled Kupp. Students solve 202 - 141 to find 61 receiving yards. The diagram makes clear why they subtract instead of adding the two displayed values.

The same structure works for rushing. For Kenneth Walker III, the team's 141 rushing yards minus the rest-of-team six yards leaves 135. The rest-of-team figure includes the combined net effect of all other rushers, including any losses. Students do not calculate with negative numbers on this page; all printed inputs and answers are nonnegative and within 1,000.

Keep the meaning of the columns consistent

"Rest of team" means everyone other than the player named in that row. It changes from one row to the next. A learner might notice that Seattle's receiving total repeats while the rest-of-team value changes. Use that observation to explain the part-whole relationship: a different missing player means a different known remainder.

The worksheet avoids subtracting a quarterback's personal passing total from a team's net passing yards. Those quantities can use different accounting for sacks, which would distract from the missing-part model. Receiving and carefully selected rushing rows let students practice subtraction while retaining a consistent relationship between the whole and its parts.

Help students check independently

After subtracting, add the answer to the rest-of-team amount. The result should equal the team total. For Kupp, 61 plus 141 returns 202. This is a useful check even when a calculator is not available, because it gives the child a second way to see the relationship rather than simply repeating the same subtraction.

If a learner struggles with regrouping across a zero, represent 202 as two hundreds and two ones, then exchange a hundred for tens. A place-value drawing can make each exchange visible. Encourage students to keep digits aligned by place value and to label the final answer in yards. For a more confident learner, cover the rest-of-team column on one completed row and ask how addition and subtraction can recover it. Use the same verified numbers so the extension remains connected to the original question.

Try the worksheet questions

Subtract the rest-of-team yards from team yards. Find each player's yards. Each row uses one team, one game and one kind of yards. All numbers are exact.

1. Cooper Kupp (SEA), receiving: team 202 yards, rest of team 141 yards. Find the player's yards.

2. AJ Barner (SEA), receiving: team 202 yards, rest of team 148 yards. Find the player's yards.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA), receiving: team 202 yards, rest of team 175 yards. Find the player's yards.

4. Kenneth Walker III (SEA), rushing: team 141 yards, rest of team 6 yards. Find the player's yards.

5. George Holani (SEA), rushing: team 141 yards, rest of team 135 yards. Find the player's yards.

6. Mack Hollins (NE), receiving: team 295 yards, rest of team 217 yards. Find the player's yards.

7. DeMario Douglas (NE), receiving: team 295 yards, rest of team 250 yards. Find the player's yards.

8. Rhamondre Stevenson (NE), rushing: team 79 yards, rest of team 56 yards. Find the player's yards.

9. TreVeyon Henderson (NE), rushing: team 79 yards, rest of team 60 yards. Find the player's yards.

10. Drake Maye (NE), rushing: team 79 yards, rest of team 42 yards. Find the player's yards.

Answer key and checking work

Try the student questions before opening these worked answers. The separate answer PDF uses the same numbering.

1. 202 - 141 = 61 yards

2. 202 - 148 = 54 yards

3. 202 - 175 = 27 yards

4. 141 - 6 = 135 yards

5. 141 - 135 = 6 yards

6. 295 - 217 = 78 yards

7. 295 - 250 = 45 yards

8. 79 - 56 = 23 yards

9. 79 - 60 = 19 yards

10. 79 - 42 = 37 yards

Grade 3 skill and classroom use

This activity practices 3.NBT.A.2 within the Grade 3 Common Core mathematics standards. It is focused practice for that skill, not a complete assessment of everything in the standard. For example, a correct numeric answer alone does not show how a learner reasoned. Ask the child to explain one choice with words, a drawing or a written equation.

For a small group, have students solve independently first, then compare methods with a partner. One learner can read a question while the other identifies the useful numbers; swap roles on the next question. If a learner makes an error, return to the unit and the operation before correcting the arithmetic. Keep a brief note of the kind of support needed so the next practice session addresses it.

Continue the Grade 3 football math series

Choose the next skill your learner is practicing. Each post includes its own student PDF, worked answers and teaching suggestions.

• Multiplication practice
• Division practice
• Two-step word problems
• Addition within 1,000
• Rounding practice
• Fractions practice
• Bar graph practice

Build your own team in LitZone

When the worksheet is finished, build your own team in LitZone with a parent or teacher. Choose real NFL players and give the team a name. You can also explore our football math activities and fantasy football lesson plans for another classroom session. The PDFs in this series remain free to download and use.