NFL Overtime Rules

During the regular NFL season, most football fans are familiar with the standard "sudden death" overtime rule. Basically, in the the event of a tied game after four quarters, a coin flip determines who will receive the ball at the commencement of the overtime period. Of course, it's not mandatory that the winner of the coin toss receives the ball. But with "first team that scores, wins" situation, is there really any other choice?

I never particularly liked the sudden death rule. Here, you have two teams that have fought it out for four grueling quarters. And then you put in place a scenario where the initial overtime punt return could end the game in less than a minute. I don't think it's fair that one team might not even get a chance to touch the ball in overtime.

Well, at least the NFL has started to make a few changes regarding overtime. Last year, they tweaked the overtime rules a little bit. There would no longer be a traditional sudden death situation. However, there could be. Let me explain....

At the beginning of the overtime period (15 minutes, by the way), if the team that receives the ball marching downfield and scores a touchdown on their first drive, it's game over. However, it the team kicks a field goal, the  game continues and the other team receives the ball and gets an opportunity to score. If this team also kicks a field and ties the game, then the sudden death rule kicks in. Additionally, if at any time, the defense scores, it's game over.

I guess this is a little better than the old rules, but I still don't like it. A football game is a battle not only against the opposing team, but against the clock as well. So, why should the clock be dismissed by a sudden death win? I think there should be a determined length of play designated for overtime play. Whether it's five, ten or fifteen minutes, let the game play out.

I know it can be a demanding game and you can't have these massive athletes playing five or six overtime periods. But, first of all, how often would that happen? But in anticipation of a situation like this, I would say to limit the overtime to two full  periods. If there's still a tie after that, than we could adjust the rules and come up with some kind of tie breaker. At least by this point, both teams would have been given an opportunity to win.

kw