Change to overtime passes
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Change to overtime passes
Paul Domowitch
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Changes to the NFL overtime policy were approved by owners today at the league meetings.
The change allows both teams a possession opportunity in overtime if the team that won the coin toss scores on a field goal rather than a touchdown on its first possession. If the team that wins the toss scores a touchdown, the game is over. After the first possession, the game goes to sudden death.
The vote was 28-4 in favor of the change, which will take effect in the 2010 playoffs. Buffalo, Minnesota, Baltimore and Cincinnati were the no votes.
Competition committee co-chair Rich McKay said "it's possible" there will be a vote at the spring meeting to expand the overtime rules to the regular season.
To read our earlier posts, click here.
Comments (20)
Both teams should get a posession regardless of how the team scores— Eddie Spaghetti- i like this change. they should put it into the regular season aswell.. if only to test it before the playoffs.— sasquatches
nah, if a team can drive the whole field and put it in for 6, then the other team doesn't deserve a chance. plus, what, they score a td and they go back and forth.....nah, this is a good change. baby steps....- ha! apparently it got brought up in league circles because they were upset poster boy favre didnt get another chance in OT to beat the saints. and minnesota voted against it! maybe they realize it was favres fault anyway for throwing the interception at the end of regulation.— Greg S
Comment removed.- So the team who receives the ball 1st and kicks a FG can lose if the opposing team kicks a FG on their 1st possession? What kind of sense does that make? I guess the second possession FG counts as 4 points because I can't imagine seeing the final score of a playoff game say 24-24.— Nothing but the truth
- It makes no sense to have one set of overtime rules for regular season games, and then to fundamentally change the rules of the game for the playoffs. What about games on Week 17 in which a team's playoff hopes are riding on an overtime? If the thought behind this change is that the current system is unfair, then it is unfair no matter when the game is being played. This seems like a half-assed compromise that needs a lot more thought- or a lot more consistent application.— MrHumphries
- Comment removed.
- It's interesting that they made this rule RIGHT AFTER Bret Favre didn't have a chance to take the field in overtime.— Nothing but the truth
- @nothingbutthetruth: Are you related to Donovan McNabb? Here's what the rule change calls for ( I'm busting on you, but I must admit the article above doesn't make it clear). If team A scores a TD in OT, game over, A wins. If team A scores a FG in OT , then team B gets the ball. If team B then scores a TD , game over, B wins. If they don't score at all, game over, team A wins.If they kick a game tying FG, then team A gets the ball back with the score tied, and the old rule of 'sudden death' is in effect.— drbob1
- How do you debut a rule in the playoffs - and not test it in a regular season first? WTF?! Whether one likes the rule or not, this is ludicrous (in my opinion, of course.)— MG44
- @MG44: I agree with you 100%. My guess is that the players union doesn't want the game lengthened in the regular season unnecessarily, but that's a weak reason to not go ahead and make sure there isn't some drawback to this rule that they somehow missed. If there is, better to find out during the regular season. I can't imagine what that drawback would be though.— drbob1
- Comment removed.
- Somebody better tell McNabb quick ,maybe it will sink into his thick skull before the season starts !!— zogger
- Repeat1stdown, Good point, and reference to a classic Carlin bit!— MG44
- Does the new rule come with illustrations so certain qb's can understand?— Luriesucks
- I thought they were going to do like the college OT rules which would have been ridiculous. This isn't bad. It's kind of cheesy to lose on a long field goal in the first possession of OT. If you can score a TD, you deserve the win. If you can't and settle for a FG, the other team has the chance to match you or beat you with a TD. I'm ok with this change.— JimG
- Ugh...for all you conspiracy theorists, the NFC Championship game last year would have had the SAME RESULT. Only a field goal in the VERY FIRST POSSESSION can be matched by the other team. The New Orleans field goal was not on the first possession of OT. This is a change in the right direction, and hopefully they'll put it in the regular season.— cnova000
- proof read your articles— mijou6
- Hate the move, at least it'll only affect playoff games though (cause they aren't important or anything). I liked the way it was before, but if you're going to change the rule make it something that doesn't require in depth explanation. "First to 6, unless they score a safety on you" sounds better than "If team A scores a TD they win, if not then team B gets a chance to match or better, assuming team B does not record a safety against the team A. If team B matches then play resumes as sudden death and if they score more they win." You know Al Michaels, Jim Nantz and Joe Buck are creaming their jeans thinking about being first to explain the rules during the next playoff game goes that into OT.— trizot
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