Rules of the Game - NFL Overtime

The NFL overtime rules changed this year. However, a rule that’s been in place for decades is causing confusion for players.

For only the fifth time since 1990, an NFL game has ended in a tie. In 2008 when his Eagles tied with the Cincinnati Bengals, Donovan McNabb became sort of the enigma of the NFL when he came out saying he didn’t know you could tie in the NFL.

He’s not alone. When the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams tied on Sunday, players on both sides of the field were confused. Rams WR Danny Amendola was preparing for a second OT when the referee announced the game was over. 49ers S Dashon Gouldson was admittedly confused when he saw players going to the middle of the field to shake hands, wondering where everybody was going.

Maybe it is time for players to be fully aware of the rules in the NFL? As for the casual fan, here are the current overtime rules for the National Football League and how we feel about them.

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Prior to this year, the NFL ran overtime like a “sudden death 5th quarter” where the ball is kicked off like the start of a new game and the first team to score would win. That no longer is the case.

Now, both teams have a chance to possess the ball, kind of…

Upon winning the coin toss to start OT, a team may select to kick, receive, or defend a certain end of the field. It used to be that everybody would receive because if you score you win. That’s not necessarily the case anymore, and maybe some strategy can come into play now.

If the team who possesses the ball first in OT scores a touchdown, the game is over right there. If the team scores a field goal on their first possession, the defending team has the chance to match the score with a field goal of their own, or even to win the game by scoring a touchdown. If the score is still tied after both teams possess the ball once, the game advances into sudden death. If the tie is not broken before the 15:00 period ends, then the game ends in a tie.

Now, as for our analysis of the overtime rules: it’s the worst OT system in sports. The system improved with the addition of the possibility of both teams possessing the ball. We much prefer the college and high school football system where both teams are given the ball in scoring position (25-yard line in college, 10-yard line in high school) and they continue playing until the tie is broken. In the NFL, at least special teams are still a factor in terms of kickoffs and punts. But the system is still flawed in my mind.

And the biggest reason it is flawed is the possibility of a tie. There is no possibility of a tie in high school football, no possibility in college football, so why is there the potential of one in the NFL? I’d much prefer forgetting special teams and instead have both teams possess the ball at the 50 yard line. Either that or just run it like a standard 15 minute quarter and whoever leads after that time is the winner. If that second scenario is adopted, then ties SHOULD be implemented. I think the current system is better than last year’s, but it still has a long way to go.

 …especially when the players don’t know the rules….