How Is NFL Overtime Played?
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How is NFL overtime played? The answer may surprise you.
How is NFL overtime played?
NFL overtime is one of the most exciting parts of the game. both teams get a chance to score, and the game can end in a matter of seconds. However, there are a few rules that govern NFL overtime. Let’s take a look at how NFL overtime is played.
The coin toss
At the start of overtime, a coin toss is held to determine which team will possess the ball first. The captain of the visiting team calls the coin toss. The winner of the coin toss can choose to:
-Receive the opening kickoff
-Defer their choice to the start of the second half
– Choose which goal they want to defend
The loser of the coin toss gets the remaining option.
The kickoff
At the start of overtime, a coin toss is held to determine which team will possess the ball first. The losing team of the coin toss has the option to choose which end of the field they would like to defend. The team that wins the coin toss can choose to either receive or kickoff the ball, or they can choose which goal they would like to defend.
If the team that loses the coin toss decides to kick off, then the game proceeds as if it were a kickoff at the start of a new game. The receiving team must have four players on each side of their own 30-yard line, and they can score a touchdown or field goal on any play. If they score a touchdown, then the game is over and they win. If they score a field goal, then both teams are allowed to possess the ball in overtime until one team scores more points than the other.
If the team that wins the coin toss decides to receive, then both teams must have three players on each side of their own 30-yard line. The receiving team can score a touchdown or field goal on any play, and if they do then the game is over and they win. If they do not score on their first possession, then both teams are allowed to possess the ball in overtime until one team scores more points than another.
The drive
In the NFL, if the score is tied at the end of regulation time, the game enters a sudden death overtime period. The first team to score wins the game. The rules for overtime are different from those used during regulation play, so it’s important to understand how the game is played before heading into OT.
In overtime, the coin toss does not take place. Instead, the team that won the coin toss to start the game gets to choose whether to kick or receive. The other team gets whichever option the first team doesn’t choose.
Once the decision has been made, play proceeds in a similar fashion to that of a regular game drive, with each team having four downs to try and score. If they don’t score on their first possession, or if they score a field goal on their first possession, the other team gets a chance to score. This back-and-forth continues until one team either scores a touchdown or kicks a field goal and wins the game.
How does NFL overtime work?
In the NFL, if the score is tied at the end of regulation, the game enters into a sudden death overtime period. The first team to score wins the game. There are no timeouts in overtime and the teams play until someone scores. The overtime period is 10 minutes long in the regular season, and 15 minutes long in the playoffs.
Sudden death
When the score is tied at the end of regulation time, the game enters into a sudden death overtime period. The first team to score any points during overtime wins the game. If neither team scores during overtime, the game ends in a tie.
During sudden death overtime, each team has one possession to score. The team that starts on offense first is decided by a coin toss before overtime begins. Whichever team wins the coin toss can choose whether to start on offense or defense. If they choose to start on offense, their opponents will start on defense and vice versa.
Once a team scores during sudden death overtime, the game is over and that team is declared the winner. Because each team only has one possession during sudden death, it’s possible for the game to end on the first play from scrimmage if one team scores a touchdown or safety.
The 10-minute sudden death
Each team gets one possession to score. If the team that starts on offense scores a touchdown, it wins. If it scores a field goal, the other team gets a chance to possess the ball. If it doesn’t score, or if the game is tied after each team has had one possession, the game enters sudden death.
In sudden death, the first team to score wins, regardless of whether it’s a touchdown or field goal. Field goals are worth three points, touchdowns six (except in the rare case of a defensive two-point conversion). If neither team scores in the first 10 minutes of sudden death, then the game ends in a tie.
What happens if the game is still tied after overtime?
If the score is still tied after the overtime period, the game ends in a tie. In the playoffs, however, each team gets one possession to score, and if the score is still tied, the game goes into sudden death.
The tiebreaker rules
If the score is still tied at the end of the overtime period, the game ends in a tie. In the regular season, this is not a big deal because each team is only playing 16 games and there are usually other teams we can count on to beat the teams we tied with.
However, in the playoffs, a tie can be devastating because it means that our team does not advance to the next round. In order to avoid this outcome, the NFL has a set of tiebreaker rules that they use to determine who wins and who goes home.
The first tiebreaker is whether or not either team scored a touchdown in overtime. If neither team scored a touchdown, then the game goes to sudden death and whoever scores first (a touchdown or field goal) wins the game.
If one team scored a touchdown and the other did not, then that team wins automatically without having to go to sudden death. However, if both teams scored a touchdown in overtime, then we move on to the next tiebreaker, which is field goals.
In this case, whoever had more field goals throughout the game (including overtime) wins the game. If both teams are still tied after that, then whoever had more successful two-point conversion attempts throughout the game (including overtime) wins the game.
And if they’re still tied after that… well, I don’t know what happens after that because it has never happened before in NFL history!
The overtime rules
In the NFL, if the score is tied at the end of regulation, the game will go into overtime. During overtime, each team will have the opportunity to possess the ball once, with the team that scores the most points during their possession winning the game. If both teams score during their possessions, or if neither team scores, then the game will end in a tie.