Eagles-Bengals Tie Shows Why NFL's Overtime Rules Should Follow NCAA's

How many people reading this article can actually say they witnessed an NFL game that resulted in a tie?

After Sunday, I can say I have.

Week 11 of the 2008 NFL season was filled with plenty of topics that will keep fans talking for the next week or two.

Kerry Collins showed us that the undefeated Titans can not only run the ball but pass as well after they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-14.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to squeeze by the struggling San Diego Chargers after a controversial call at the end of the game (one that wouldn't have changed the outcome) with an 11-10 win.

However, the biggest story of the week didn't come from a team that came up with a huge win. It didn't come from a team that had a huge loss.

Instead, the biggest story of the week came from the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals, who ended up with a 13-13 tie after playing five quarters of football. This would be the first tie in the NFL since 2002.

For the Cincinnati Bengals, the tie was better than a loss. With a disappointing 1-8-1 record (that is SO weird to type for a football team), the Bengals are already looking forward to next season.

For the Philadelphia Eagles, the tie hurt more than a loss.

In four losses this season, the Eagles have lost by a combined 19 points. In all four losses, the Birds had an opportunity to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.

I'm sure fans and players will be looking back at this game in a few weeks kicking themselves about how they should have won this game.

With the Giants seeming to pull away with the NFC East title, all the Birds can do is hope for a wild-card spot.

However, it's not going to be easy.

The thought of a tie is going to the Bengals is going to haunt the Eagles for the rest of the season. To be honest, no team deserved to win this game. Both teams played so awful that they may as well give both of them a "L" in the loss column. But should they really have concluded a game with a tie?

At the end of the game, fans of the Eagles and Bengals both had one thing in common: Both sets walked away from Paul Brown Stadium frustrated and confused.

Usually after a game, there is one team's fans who are happy and excited because their team just won. The other team's fans are usually upset and angry that they just sat through four quarters of football to see their team lose.

In this case, both fans were feeling the same emotions.

The NFL needs to take a different approach when it comes to their overtime games. No player or fan wants to sit through hours of football to end the game with a tie. The NFL is the only league in the four major sports (football, baseball, basketball, and hockey) where it is possible to end the game in a tie.

The NHL allowed ties until they changed the rule around a few years ago, where two tied teams at the end of overtime would have a shootout. In the NBA and MLB, teams play extra time until a winner is declared.

What should the NFL do to change their overtime procedures? Why not take the NCAA football approach.

In 1996, the NCAA decided to get rid of ties for their football games. Whenever there is a case of overtime in football, each team will get one possession starting at the opponent's 25-yard line. If there is a leader after the two possessions, that team wins. If it's still tied, they go into another overtime.

After two overtimes, the extra point is taken away after touchdowns. Instead, teams have to go for the two point conversion. However, the important part is that if there needs to be 14 overtimes to be declared a winner, then that's how many overtimes will be played.

If this was the approach the NFL took for their overtime games, it would make games that much more exciting. The fact that some teams get lucky enough to win a coin-toss and score on the first possession in overtime is ridiculous. Sure, you could blame it on the losing team not playing that great of defense. But I don't think it's fair that some teams don't even get a chance for their offense to play in overtime.

A tie doesn't mean much in the NFL standings. The only effect it has is a half of a game applied to the winning percentage.

If the NFL changed the way overtime was played for two teams to the way the NCAA does, the games would be that more exciting for fans. Nobody wants to sit through five quarters of football and just walk away with a tie.

If I recall, there is a famous quote that goes, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

For the sake of the NFL, maybe we should change that quote around to, "It's not whether you win or lose...or tie it were to happen, it's how you play the game."