The NFL’s new Overtime Rules

The National Football League has decided to change the rules for how overtime will play out beginning next season. While the rules will only affect playoff games, they fall in line with the rule change that the league instituted for regular-season games a few years ago.

For years, overtime in professional football was sudden death, meaning that the first team to score in OT was the winner, no matter how the score occurred. If the team that has the ball first in OT scores a touchdown, that team wins. However, if the team kicks a field goal on its first drive, the other team gets a chance to win with a TD. If both teams can only manage field goals on their first drives, or neither scores, then the game becomes sudden death until the end of the 10-minute OT period.

In the playoffs, under the new rules, even if the first team with the ball scores a touchdown, the second team will get a chance to score a touchdown to tie the game. If the second team scores a touchdown, the game becomes sudden death, and the team continues playing 10-minute periods with three-minute breaks between periods until one team scores.

This rule change came about because during a Bills-Chiefs playoff game, the Chiefs scored a TD on their first drive of OT, and the Bills did not get a chance to touch the ball. Bills fans and team execs were upset because after the two teams scored four touchdowns in the last two minutes of regulation, the team had no opportunity to tie the game.

Many rule changes like this in sports are knee-jerk reactions to situations like the end of the Bills-Chiefs game. Because it was a playoff game, and because the Bills shredded the Chief defense in the closing minutes of regulation, the Bills felt they should have had a chance to do it again in OT. Unfortunately, just like with the now-legendary Tuck Rule Game, the rules are the rules.

If the Bills were so upset about the game's outcome, the simple solution would have been for their defense to not surrender a TD to the Chiefs in OT or the last few minutes of regulation. If the Bills' defense had made a stop on one of the three drives of the last two minutes of regulation or OT, then the Bills would have won the game.

It is understandable to have a knee-jerk reaction to a situation, and this new rule change is simply that. This rule is a reaction to the Bills losing how they did. However, once a team complains after losing in OT when the team scored first, the NFL will review the rule again.  

The new rule is the new rule, and as fans, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the games. Whether our team wins or loses, unless it was due to a blown referee call, as the whistle in the Raiders/Bengals game, all we can do is celebrate if our team wins or wait until next time otherwise. The rules are not always going to go our way.