Update: New NFL overtime rule…Both teams get ball in playoff games

[dieterbrock]

In this case, Bills letting them tie it with 13 seconds left. They lost it then.
Every one looks at the end and forgets that earlier plays might have had a bigger impact on the game. No luck involved.
I'm good with the rules as they stand

KC's defense was playing equally as bad, however they didnt have to make a stop.
Thanks to a coin flip, they had consecutive offensive possessions and the defense was able to just watch
Its a team game, and IMO a true fair test requires both sides of the ball needing to step up

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

In this case, Bills letting them tie it with 13 seconds left. They lost it then.
Every one looks at the end and forgets that earlier plays might have had a bigger impact on the game. No luck involved.
I'm good with the rules as they stand

If the Bills win the toss they likely win. If the Chiefs win the toss they win. Both defenses were beat. It came down to heads or tails. Once that happens the odds swing heavily in the coin toss winners favor.

I’d rather see all three phases on the field.

 

[Ballhawk]

Both teams getting an offensive possession is the fairest way to go. They just went with the sudden death idea
to shorten the games, as the problem is that if both teams score the same amount you're still tied!
But if the college teams can do it that way, so can the NFL.

 

[GoodBadUgly]

Latest:

NFL approves OT rules tweak for playoffs only

NFL owners on Tuesday approved a rule proposal to modify overtime in the playoffs by ensuring both teams get a possession.

www.espn.com

 

[CGI_Ram]

Latest:

NFL approves OT rules tweak for playoffs only

NFL owners on Tuesday approved a rule proposal to modify overtime in the playoffs by ensuring both teams get a possession.

www.espn.com

In Summary:

Only in postseason games, after each team has a possession and providing the game remains tied, sudden death will decide the outcome.

Regular season stays the same, for now.

New NFL overtime rule: Both teams get ball in playoff games

In regular-season overtime, the game still ends if team scores a touchdown on first possession, but in playoffs both teams now are assured possession.

www.latimes.com

 

[Ellard80]

good rule change - but needs to apply to regular season as well

 

[majrleaged]

KC's defense was playing equally as bad, however they didnt have to make a stop.
Thanks to a coin flip, they had consecutive offensive possessions and the defense was able to just watch
Its a team game, and IMO a true fair test requires both sides of the ball needing to step up

13 seconds is all they had to defend and game over. Plus it isn't like that D had just endured a 12 play drive at the end of regulation. And luck has always been part of the game.

How many times in one game do they each need to touch the ball for it to be fair.

You make valid points, I just don't agree that change is needed to make the game better.

 

[oldnotdead]

From what I hear the TV networks didn't want it applied to the regular season as it would extend games and disrupt their schedules. The NFL is always sensitive to money talking.

 

[LA_vision]

Don’t like it. Playoffs games are brutal enough, now we could potentially at 10 more minutes. Yikes.

One rule I heard and liked was that the OT coin flip should be done pre game.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Good change imo. That KC/Buffalo ending was not a good look for the league imo.

Remember this is a league that wanted parity and installed a salary cap so that every team has a chance to win. It’s appropriate that that logic holds true in playoff OT.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Don’t like it. Playoffs games are brutal enough, now we could potentially at 10 more minutes. Yikes.

That’s incentive to get it done in regulation time and the consequences if they don’t. It should factor into strategy near the end of the game or at the beginning of OT.

 

[tempests]

13 seconds is all they had to defend and game over. Plus it isn't like that D had just endured a 12 play drive at the end of regulation. And luck has always been part of the game.

How many times in one game do they each need to touch the ball for it to be fair.

You make valid points, I just don't agree that change is needed to make the game better.

It's just a built in advantage for one team to have possession of the ball, and the other team never to get their chance. Maybe football is a sport where sudden death rules don't make sense.

Imagine if baseball played extra innings, and called it a game whenever someone scored. A reliever serves up a home run in the top half of the 10th, and they call it game right there. No bottom half of the 10th. Rip the pitcher for giving up the long ball, but the game is over with one team having extra outs, at bats, extra chances to score. And the home team never did.

And that's what NFL overtime has been.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

What about having the home team getting the ball first in OT? Then both teams know what they are up against with no coin flip required.

 

[RamUK]

One rule I heard and liked was that the OT coin flip should be done pre game.

Fucking LOVE that idea!

 

[wolfdogg]

When the first team to get the ball scores a field goal or td, the 2nd team has an unfair advantage to tie or to beat a field goal with a td because they are then in 4 down mode the entire way down the field and have 4 downs to get 10 yards and move the sticks.

Being that 7 of 10 playoff overtime games ended with the first team scoring a td, I bet at least 7 would tie with the extra 4th down to use their entire drive.

They should just skip the coin toss, line up where the 4th quarter ends, and begin sudden death. Basically extending the 4th quarter from where it ends

 

[Merlin]

What about having the home team getting the ball first in OT? Then both teams know what they are up against with no coin flip required.

I love this idea.

 

[Merlin]

I'm fine with the change they made. I don't really care either way tbh, rules are the rules and you can't make everything perfect. Playoffs it makes sense to do this as you have more importance in the broadcast with the sudden death element as it pertains to extended television time. So I think it's a good change but they could have put it back to the old first possession wins rule and I would have been fine with it.

 

[dieterbrock]

Makes perfect sense.
I agree with leaving reg season as is.
It does add some new intrigue, I would imagine that the team that wins the coin flip will now have a decision to make whether to kick or receive

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

I would imagine that the team that wins the coin flip will now have a decision to make whether to kick or receive

Nope, every coach with a brain will always kick. Because if the other teams scores a TD, then you are always in 4 down territory. There is an advantage there.

 

[dieterbrock]

Nope, every coach with a brain will always kick. Because if the other teams scores a TD, then you are always in 4 down territory. There is an advantage there.

Disagree
There surely will be games where a team chooses to kick off, I think it will happen often.
In college football, every team that wins the toss elects to take ball 2nd.
If its a low scoring type affair or inclement weather etc etc, it would make total sense.
Stop the team or hold them to 3, you now know what you're up against.