What Are The NFL Rules For Overtime?
Contents
The NFL overtime rules are simple: each team gets one possession, and the first team to score wins. If neither team scores, the game ends in a tie.
Here’s a closer look at the NFL overtime rules, including how the new overtime rule works.
Introduction
In the NFL, the overtime rules are simple: each team gets one possession, and the first team to score wins. If neither team scores, or if both teams score field goals on their first drives, the game ends in a tie.
Here’s a more detailed look at how NFL overtime works:
-The overtime period is 10 minutes long.
-Each team gets one possession, with no timeouts.
-If the score is still tied at the end of the 10 minutes, the game ends in a tie.
-If both teams score touchdowns on their first possessions, or if both teams kick field goals on their first possessions, the game goes into sudden death mode. In sudden death mode, the first team to score wins, regardless of how long it takes them to do so.
What are the NFL rules for overtime?
If a regular season game is tied after regulation time has expired, the game will go into overtime. During overtime, each team will have the opportunity to possess the ball and score. The team that scores first during overtime will win the game. If neither team scores during overtime, the game will end in a tie.
The new overtime rules
In 2017, the NFL tweaked its overtime rules in an effort to reduce the number of games that were decided by a field goal. Now, if the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown on its opening drive, the game is over. But if that team only kicks a field goal, the other team gets a chance to possess the ball. If they score a touchdown, they win; if they don’t score, or if they kick a field goal, then the game goes to sudden death — meaning the first team to score wins, regardless of how it happens.
The old overtime rules
In the old overtime rules, each team had the opportunity to possess the ball at least once in overtime if the game was still tied after both teams had completed a full possession. If one team scored a touchdown on its initial possession, the game would end. If it scored a field goal, then the other team would get a chance to either tie the game with a touchdown or win it with a field goal of its own. If neither team scored on its first possession, or if both teams scored field goals, then the process would repeat until someone scored a touchdown.
What is the difference between the new and old rules?
In 2012, the NFL instituted a new set of rules for overtime periods in regular season games. The main difference between the old and new rules is that the team who wins the coin toss now only has the option to receive the ball or defer to the second half. In the old rules, the team who won the coin toss could also choose to send the game into sudden death overtime by choosing to kick off.
How do the new rules affect the game?
In 2017, the NFL changed its overtime rules in the hopes of reducing the number of games that were decided by a single possession. The new rules state that if the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown on their first drive of overtime, the game is over. However, if they score a field goal, the other team gets a chance to score. If they score a touchdown, they win. If they don’t score, the first team wins.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the NFL overtime rules are designed to make the game fair for both teams, and to prevent either team from having an unfair advantage. The rules are also designed to prevent the game from going on for too long, and to ensure that both teams have a chance to score.