Overtime Rules - Keep As Is? (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bryant]

What are your thoughts on keeping the overtime rules the same?

This is Andy Nesbitt from USA Today's take on why they should stay the same:

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2022/01/bills-chiefs-nfl-overtime-rules-are-perfect

The NFL's overtime rules don't need to be changed. Want the ball back? Get a stop!

Andy Nesbitt 

January 24, 2022 8:41 am ET

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The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills played one of the greatest football games in the history of football yesterday. It was incredible. It was insane. It was some of the best TV that you’ll ever see.

And, of course, it ended with a bit of controversy that left a lot of fans mad at the NFL and its overtime rules.

If you missed it, the two teams combined for 25 points in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Patrick Mahomes saved his team by getting them in field goal range on a 13-second drive that should be talked about for the rest of time.

The Chiefs then won the coin toss to start overtime and marched down the field on the only drive of the extra frame and won it on an 8-yard TD pass from Mahomes to Travis Kelce.

While the Chiefs celebrated, lots of fans yelled on Twitter about how it stunk that Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense never got a chance to step on the field in overtime. They screamed about how could such a great game be decided by a coin toss and how it wasn’t fair for the Bills or their fans.

Those people, though, were wrong. The ending was entirely fair and wasn’t decided by a coin toss. It was decided by the Bills defense not being able to get a stop when it needed to. It was decided by the Chiefs’ offense putting plays together and making things happen when the game was on the line. It was decided by two teams doing what they should be doing – playing football.

The NFL overtime rules are perfectly fine as is and don’t need to be changed.  If you lose the coin toss then you have to run your defense out on the field and stop the other team, or at least hold them to a field goal, so your offense can get a chance. Give up a touchdown and the game is over. It’s perfect, really. It’s how football is played. It’s how football should be played.

Have you seen how overtime works in college football? It’s a joke and doesn’t look anything like football. When teams keep scoring in college OT they go to sudden death two-point conversions! We don’t need those type of carnival games at the professional level.

Lots of people think the easy fix would be to allow both teams to get an automatic shot at having the ball in overtime. That seems a little too hokey to me and takes away from the spirit of the game. If you want the other team to get a chance on offense then that other team needs to step up and get a stop. If you can’t get a stop then you don’t deserve to win the game.

It’s that simple.

Well, unless you’re trying to stop Patrick Mahomes.

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Definitely change

Not because the Bills lost, I have had this opinion for awhile. But I’m not exactly sure what I would like the new rule to be. 
I believe each offense should touch the ball 

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Bills fan.  I'm fine with OT the way it is.  Actually I'd like to extend the OT period a bit so as to reduce the likelihood of a tie, although obviously that's not relevant for the postseason.  But I'm completely okay with the possibility of a walk-off TD.  Should have played better defense.

 

[zamboni]

I vote change. Yes, it's easy to say you the defense could have stopped them, but easier said than done after a long grueling game. Not that this was the case, but TDs can often happen via fluke.

Just seems like each team should have the ball at least once - a shame that a coin toss has to decide it in many cases.

I think the NCAA has the general right idea in how to handle OT.

 

[Wildcat]

Bills fan.  I'm fine with OT the way it is.  Actually I'd like to extend the OT period a bit so as to reduce the likelihood of a tie, although obviously that's not relevant for the postseason.  But I'm completely okay with the possibility of a walk-off TD.  Should have played better defense.

This is my stance as well.  There is no perfect system.  The Bills would have had a chance to win - they just needed to stop a TD.  If we are saying "the coin flip wins the game" because neither team can stop the other team from scoring a TD, then why aren't you ok with the coin flip?  Seems like a coin flip in that scenario (where both teams are equal and can't stop a TD) is a fair way to determine the winner anyway.

 

[jobarules]

A coin toss to determine who gets ball first is just dumb. Id even be a fan of the home team getting 1st possession over a freaking coin toss.

 

[TampaMike19]

I just think the other team should get a chance to respond, no matter if it's a field goal or a TD. Better defense holds them to a field goal, so there's the argument for that. But it's an offense-based game these days- let both teams get a chance

 

[rockaction]

Adam Harstad on Twitter expressed a solution that others -- I think on this board (Anarchy99?) -- have had. That is to give the team with the ball the ball to start overtime, as if it were a continuation of the game. 

I disagree because every professional sport starts overtime anew, as it were. Baseball a clean inning. Hockey a face-off. Basketball a jump ball without paying attention to the possession arrow that otherwise determines possession after the first jump ball. 

But that's me. I'd like to see each team touch the ball once, or even wilder that he discussed yesterday, let there be sudden death but with teams blind bidding on where they'll start from on the field. Meaning that the lower bid wins. Say Buffalo thought they could score from their own one. They could bid that. And they'd likely win the low bid war. It would make for such interesting game theory and strategy. 

Anyway, these are thoughts I saw last night. 

 

[modogg]

Not sure how feasible it is, but current rules seem fine for regular season. But in the playoffs I think there needs to be a change. The arguments with defense should make a stop are fine in regular season but in the playoffs it just seems to take away from an awesome game like last nights 

 

[bostonfred]

If you require each team to get the ball then the team that goes second has a huge advantage.  If you don't score i get the ball and only need a field goal.  If you score a field goal i need a field goal for the tie and a td for the win. If you score a touchdown and miss the extra point i can go for 1. If you score a touchdown in a game like last night and go for 1 i can go for two.  

It's like being the dealer in blackjack. You have all the advantage because you make your decisions second.  

In the current system, you get some of that advantage from going second anyways.  If you don't score on the first drive i can play for a field goal.  If you get a field goal i can go for it on 4th down from deep in my own territory because I know i have no other choice.  The only advantage the first team gets is that they can score a touchdown and win outright. That's fair. 

Leave it alone

 

[zamboni]

Not sure how feasible it is, but current rules seem fine for regular season. But in the playoffs I think there needs to be a change.

That's a fair point. In the NHL, during the regular season you have a 5-minute overtime and if no one scores, you have a shootout (don't get me started on that travesty). But in the Stanley Cup playoffs, you just play it out until someone scores. No reason why it can't be adjusted for the NFL playoffs vis-a-vis the regular season.

 

[Jayrok]

I say leave it alone. Wouldn't want to see it like in college, but if they did adopt that method, give each team the ball on their own 40, or even their own 20, not the opposing 25. Then the other team gets the same opp.  If still tied after both possessions, trade 2 point conversions until a winner.  

 

[culdeus]

I like the model proposed where both teams get a 1st down at the 50 and score a TD to win or keep the game going.  College overreacted to the LSU/TAMU game and the NFL doesn't want to say the NCAA method (with no kickoff) is superior in some ways.  

Other proposals like start at the 40 and keep backing it up 10 yards each OT make sense imo.  

 

[eighsse]

I'm opting not to vote, under the assumption that my opinion "definitely change" would be counted as "make more rules". My preference is to change back to true sudden death overtime rules.

 

[Insein]

I'm fine with the way it is for regular season. You don't need 5 hour marathon games when a tie or sudden death will do. 

But for playoffs it needs to be a full quarter of play. If they're still tied after 15mins, run another full quarter. Go until there is a winner when the clock hits 0:00

 

[Lehigh98]

I just think the other team should get a chance to respond, no matter if it's a field goal or a TD. Better defense holds them to a field goal, so there's the argument for that. But it's an offense-based game these days- let both teams get a chance

I don't like how KC vs BUF ended either, it was an all-timer and people may remember it more for the ending and Josh Allen just watching helpless from the bench. 

Chiefs score a TD, then Buffalo scores a TD, then what?  Next TD wins again anyway?  Keep playing until someone doesn't score a TD?  Force them to go for 2 on the conversions?  These guys have been killing each other for 60 minutes, how much longer do you want them to play?  On the flip side, think of SF and GB.  As conditions got worse, they may have just punted the ball back and forth for another hour (well assuming GB's special teams didn't screw up again which is a big ask evidently).

 

[travdogg]

I honestly don't see a problem at all with the TD wins, FG and game goes on rule. 

A coin toss to determine who gets ball first is just dumb. Id even be a fan of the home team getting 1st possession over a freaking coin toss.

Building getting the ball 1st into home field advantage would be an interesting wrinkle. I could get behind that instead of a coin toss, and really eliminating the coin toss altogether and just letting the home team choose to receive or defer at the beginning of the game would be fine too. 

 

[ProstheticRGK]

How about this for the playoffs:

Coin flip determines who gets the ball to start. Possession starts on the opposing 20. Both teams get a possession. If still a tie after both possessions, then kick off and play sudden death.

 

[Da Guru]

No dog in fight last night.

It was such a great game that I hated to see it end with Allen sitting on the bench and the Bills not touching the ball.

Saying get a stop as we saw last night in the 4th quarter is easier said than done.

 

[Zeppelin]

The only reason I voted to change the rule is I don't think its fair for a coin flip to decide who gets the ball. So each team gets one posession no matter what. With that, I also would eliminate the coin flip and instead let the last team that scored decide whether to receive or defer. 

Both teams have one chance to play both offense and defense. Sudden death thereafter. 

I don't think its as major as others but given the choice I would change it. 

 

[menobrown]

Sorry did not read article in OP but the change that was made a few years ago giving a team a chance to get the ball back so long as they did not surrender a TD was good for me, no further change needed IMO.

The major drawback of changing OT and making sure everyone gets the ball is it's just going to lead to longer games. If we are talking regular season and game is a tie after a quarter it's going to lead to more ties. In both regular and post-season it's going to lead to longer games putting both teams in regular season and advancing team in post-season at a little disadvantage with regards to being ready to turn around and play the next week.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Just do the coin toss and whoever wins that wins the game.  Simple.  Do the coin toss the next day live on TV as it's own show.  Ratings bonanza.  The Mannings can produce the show.

 

[Sam Quentin]

My position on this is the same as it has been for many many years.

play out the full quarter.  Give us the clock management, give us another two minute drill, give us more end game stategery.

 

[rick6668]

Crazy idea.

Away team has to win in regulation.  A tie goes to the home team. 

No more OT.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

I'm not crazy about the current system but have yet to hear an alternative I thought sounded better.

 

[Cjw_55106]

I'm not crazy about the current system but have yet to hear an alternative I thought sounded better.

Simply giving both teams a chance to posses the ball is better. 

 

[Steady Mooobin]

This is my stance as well.  There is no perfect system.  The Bills would have had a chance to win - they just needed to stop a TD.  If we are saying "the coin flip wins the game" because neither team can stop the other team from scoring a TD, then why aren't you ok with the coin flip?  Seems like a coin flip in that scenario (where both teams are equal and can't stop a TD) is a fair way to determine the winner anyway.

I would totally agree with this if the NFL hadn’t spent 20 years neutering defenses. Now everything is a catch, including balls that clearly hit the ground, you’re not allowed to hit people hard and you can’t hit the quarterback. 
 

 

[Steady Mooobin]

Simply giving both teams a chance to posses the ball is better. 

Yes, make it exactly like the college rule except for the whole starting at the 20 yard line thing.

You should get a chance to match whatever the other team did.

 

[IHEARTFF]

keep it the same for regular season but amend the playoff rule to allow for 1 possession each regardless of td or not

 

[dhockster]

I would keep it the same in regards to the first team with the ball kicks a FG, then the other team gets the ball with a chance to win, tie, or lose, and if they tie, it goes to sudden death. Same thing if the first team with the ball doesn't score, then it goes to sudden death.

But if the first team scores a TD, the other team gets a chance to tie by scoring a TD. If they do, it does not go to sudden death. As long as the first team keeps scoring TD's, the second team always gets a chance to tie. It can only get to sudden death the same way as currently done, when the first team kicks a FG or does not score.

This would result in Epic QB games like 2018 Mahomes/Brady or 2021 Allen/Mahomes being decided by whichever QB can outscore the other. Not with the coin toss loser sitting on the sidelines with his **** in his hand.

It would also mean whoever wins the coin toss would always elect to kickoff, as they would know they were guaranteed to get the ball, and would know what they needed to do to win or tie when they got the ball. This would be an advantage, but not determine the outcome, as ultimately the winning team would have to outperform the other team with offense and defense, and not just get to win the game by getting a chance to score a TD and not give the other team a chance with the ball.

 

[SoBeDad]

Not sure how feasible it is, but current rules seem fine for regular season. But in the playoffs I think there needs to be a change. The arguments with defense should make a stop are fine in regular season but in the playoffs it just seems to take away from an awesome game like last nights 

On the contrary. The current system forces the team receiving the ball first to be more aggressive, especially when the opposing QB is an Allen or Brady. In OT, Mahomes threw it 6 out of 8 plays, including on 1st and goal from the 8 on the TD pass to Kelce. 

 

[dhockster]

Not everybody likes the shooutout in soccer as a way of determining a winner but at least it is fair. If FIFA did the shootout the way the NFL does overtime, then if the first team to shoot scored, the game would be over, and the other team would never get a shot in the shootout.

 

[SoBeDad]

I would keep it the same in regards to the first team with the ball kicks a FG, then the other team gets the ball with a chance to win, tie, or lose, and if they tie, it goes to sudden death. Same thing if the first team with the ball doesn't score, then it goes to sudden death.

But if the first team scores a TD, the other team gets a chance to tie by scoring a TD. If they do, it does not go to sudden death. As long as the first team keeps scoring TD's, the second team always gets a chance to tie. It can only get to sudden death the same way as currently done, when the first team kicks a FG or does not score.

This would result in Epic QB games like 2018 Mahomes/Brady or 2021 Allen/Mahomes being decided by whichever QB can outscore the other. Not with the coin toss loser sitting on the sidelines with his **** in his hand.

It would also mean whoever wins the coin toss would always elect to kickoff, as they would know they were guaranteed to get the ball, and would know what they needed to do to win or tie when they got the ball. This would be an advantage, but not determine the outcome, as ultimately the winning team would have to outperform the other team with offense and defense, and not just get to win the game by getting a chance to score a TD and not give the other team a chance with the ball.

7 TD passes and 800 yards passing is not enough?

 

[dhockster]

7 TD passes and 800 yards passing is not enough?

Was a winner determined in regulation? No. So no, it was not enough.

 

[SoBeDad]

Was a winner determined in regulation? No. So no, it was not enough.

Those are the numbers including OT.

 

[Joe Schmo]

A coin flip did not decide the game, the game was decided in 13 seconds when Buffalo gacked away a game tying fg. Not kicking off in a way that put more pressure on KC and then not running a good scheme along with piss poor coverage is what cost Buffalo a chance to win. Those same short comings led to the eventual loss in OT, no need to reward bad play calling, bad play design and bad play execution.

 

[dhockster]

Those are the numbers including OT.

An OT where KC was given an opportunity to score, and Buffalo wasn't.

 

[ghostguy123]

Keep the same, except home team gets the ball first.  

Super bowl, coin toss.  If the first team scores a TD the other team gets a chance at a TD

 

[brun]

Vote to probably keep it the same.

I'd consider a modification that the receiving team start at their own 2 instead of having  KO.

 

[SoBeDad]

An OT where KC was given an opportunity to score, and Buffalo wasn't.

BUF could've scored on defense or stopped KC on 3rd and 1. As @Anarchy99pointed out, each team had 9 or 10 drives to score during regulation. I like offense, but I also appreciate defense and players like Darnold, Parsons, and Tre'Davious White.

 

[dhockster]

Let's look at Tennis: the server has an advantage in every game. Tennis makes it so you have to win each set by two games, so that you cannot win just because you got to serve one more game than your opponent. This even goes to the tiebreaker rules where you have to win the tiebreaker by two points, so again, you can't win the tiebreaker just because you got one more serve than your opponent. In today's NFL, with QB's like Mahomes an Allen, it obviously is an advantage to have the ball than to play defense. So you have to give both sides an opportunity with the advantage, i.e. both sides need to get possessions for it to be fair.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Simply giving both teams a chance to posses the ball is better. 

The problem with that is that it can give a huge benefit to the second team, since they know exactly what they need to do. Not saying you can't figure out a workaround, just that any system will have its flaws.

 

[dhockster]

BUF could've scored on defense or stopped KC on 3rd and 1. As @Anarchy99pointed out, each team had 9 or 10 drives to score during regulation. I like offense, but I also appreciate defense and players like Darnold, Parsons, and Tre'Davious White.

Yes, each team had many opportunities to score during regulation. and at the end of regulation KC and Buffalo had scored the same number of points. No winner was determined.

If you like defense so much, then play the game until one defense can stop the other offense and the other defense can't

 

[SoBeDad]

Let's look at Tennis: the server has an advantage in every game. Tennis makes it so you have to win each set by two games, so that you cannot win just because you got to serve one more game than your opponent. This even goes to the tiebreaker rules where you have to win the tiebreaker by two points, so again, you can't win the tiebreaker just because you got one more serve than your opponent. In today's NFL, with QB's like Mahomes an Allen, it obviously is an advantage to have the ball than to play defense. So you have to give both sides an opportunity with the advantage, i.e. both sides need to get possessions for it to be fair.

Your thinking may be affected by the Mahomes-Allen matchup. Recent SB qbs include Garropolo, Goff, Foles, Newton, and Kapernick. Not exactly shoe-ins to score a TD.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

I would keep it the same in regards to the first team with the ball kicks a FG, then the other team gets the ball with a chance to win, tie, or lose, and if they tie, it goes to sudden death. Same thing if the first team with the ball doesn't score, then it goes to sudden death.

But if the first team scores a TD, the other team gets a chance to tie by scoring a TD. If they do, it does not go to sudden death. As long as the first team keeps scoring TD's, the second team always gets a chance to tie. It can only get to sudden death the same way as currently done, when the first team kicks a FG or does not score.

This would result in Epic QB games like 2018 Mahomes/Brady or 2021 Allen/Mahomes being decided by whichever QB can outscore the other. Not with the coin toss loser sitting on the sidelines with his **** in his hand.

It would also mean whoever wins the coin toss would always elect to kickoff, as they would know they were guaranteed to get the ball, and would know what they needed to do to win or tie when they got the ball. This would be an advantage, but not determine the outcome, as ultimately the winning team would have to outperform the other team with offense and defense, and not just get to win the game by getting a chance to score a TD and not give the other team a chance with the ball.

This might be the best proposal I've heard, since it both improves fairness and also produces exciting outcomes in scenarios like last night's (and really, unless you're a fan of one of the teams, excitement >>>>>> fairness).

I also heard a proposal where, if a team scores a TD on its opening drive, the other team has exactly that number of plays to score a matching TD. That's intriguing, but sounds a little too weird for the NFL's tastes to ever actually happen. I know the NBA instituted the Elam Ending for its All-Star Game a couple years ago, but I feel like the NFL is too conservative to ever try something that whimsical.

 

[Cobbler1]

Rules stay the same but Team A gets to choose where the ball is placed and team B then gets to choose if they want the ball or to play defense.

 

[dhockster]

Your thinking may be affected by the Mahomes-Allen matchup. Recent SB qbs include Garropolo, Goff, Foles, Newton, and Kapernick. Not exactly shoe-ins to score a TD.

Or the Brady/Mahomes matchup 3 years ago. I wanted the rule changed after Mahomes was a victim of the rule, this time he happened to be the beneficiary.

Even if Mahomes had been playing against Garrapolo, I think Garrapolo should get a chance to score a game tying TD, and the game not just end because Mahomes was the only QB who got a chance to score a TD in OT.

 

[Godsbrother]

I vote change. Yes, it's easy to say you the defense could have stopped them, but easier said than done after a long grueling game. Not that this was the case, but TDs can often happen via fluke.

Just seems like each team should have the ball at least once - a shame that a coin toss has to decide it in many cases.

I think the NCAA has the general right idea in how to handle OT.

I loathe the college overtime rules.

The current rules encourages teams to try and win the game in regulation.  I strongly feel they should leave as-is

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

These guys have been killing each other for 60 minutes, how much longer do you want them to play? 

15 minutes.

 

[JoeSteeler]

Playoffs only…15 min OT. If still tied then teams alternate possessions starting at the 50 yard line. First team to score wins. Higher seed gets first possession.