NFL Playoff Overtime Rules: Breaking Down the Postseason Sudden Death Format

The NFL playoffs are in full swing, which means the overtime rules are very much in play once again. While they were never invoked last season, the new overtime format has come into play twice in the 2012 playoffs, in the Wild Card round between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers, and again in the NFC title game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. 

For those who may have forgotten, here's a recap of the overtime rules:

In order to win the game, the team who wins the coin toss must score a touchdown on their first possession.

In the event of a field goal, the opposing team gets a chance to score. If they kick a field goal, the game continues; if they score a touchdown, the game ends. 

If the game is tied after both teams have had a possession, then the next score wins. In other words, the team who wins the coin toss can no longer just kick a field goal and advance a step closer to the Super Bowl. 

The rules were put in place to silence the NFL's considerable critics of the previous overtime format, in which the team who won the opening coin toss could simply kick a field goal in order to win.

Although the rules were not utilized in their first season, they were put into effect twice in 2012. So far, the results have been positive, although the format still isn't perfect. It can still present teams with an unbalanced number of possessions in which to score, leaving the team who loses the coin toss without a chance to answer a score by their opponent.

However, few would argue that the new system isn't an improvement over the previous installment of the overtime rules.