NFL Overtime Rules, in Need of Change, Stay Intact

It’s almost an inarguable fact. The NFL is run better than any sports league. The NHL will not likely ever reach the popularity it once had in the mid nineties. The NBA is only just begun a revamping of star power that could compete with the days of Magic, Larry, and Michael.

Major League Baseball cannot be discussed without bringing up the black eye of steroids it has suffered through over the past decade. 

So, you may ask, what would the owners plan to change at this year’s meeting in Dana Point, CA? Well, nothing actually.

The owner’s had some things, although not critical, that could have been dramatically improved that they chose to keep the same for seemingly no other reason than familiarity. One of which is the current overtime rules.

For the fans that don’t know, and perhaps even the players (I’m talking to you, McNabb), the NFL overtime system is pretty straightforward. If regulation ends in a tie, they will have another coin toss.

The winner of the coin toss will decide who gets the ball first in the overtime period. They will take the ball; they always take the ball, simply because it is sudden death.  First team to score wins. If the entire overtime period ends with no one scoring, it’s a tie. 

The problem with this is that the coin toss holds too much power in this system. An offensive based team with a weaker defense is at a strong disadvantage. They could lose the game without the QB walking onto the field.

All that is required out of the winner of the coin toss is a drive into field-goal range. 

College, although be it a little more rule heavy, has a more even-keel system for deciding a winner in overtime. Each team gets the ball at their own 25-yard line. The clock is off.

1st-and-10, do what you can. The team that goes first is at a slight disadvantage. They have to decide whether going for it on fourth down or kicking a field goal is the more prudent choice. 

The second team just needs to do better, or at least tie, the other teams previous attempt. The first team scores a field goal, the next team has to at least match it.  If the second team in this equation scores a touchdown, the win. If, after both teams finish their drive, it is still a tie, they do it again.

Only this time the second team goes first. 

The official stance from the NFL as to why they don’t use the current college system is that they don’t want games to run too long. The NCAA felt the same constraint on games. 

Their solution was to force teams to go for two-point conversions after a touchdown after the third overtime. The NFL’s answer? Keep things the way they are, regardless of how lopsided that system may be.

The NFL has also said that their current system protects the players from injuries by not forcing them to play a large number of extra downs in overtime. If that was honestly their concern, then why not just let the winner of the coin toss be the victor?

Of course, that would be preposterous. 

One would think that the NFL would not let their games be decided by something as chance driven as a coin toss. But, for at least one more season, that is exactly what they are doing.