When Did the NFL’s Overtime Rules Change?

The NFL’s overtime rules have changed a few times over the years, with the most recent change happening in 2017. Here’s a look at when the NFL’s overtime rules have changed and what those changes have been.

Introduction

In 2012, the NFL’s overtime rules underwent a seismic change, with the league adopting a new format to reduce the likelihood of the game ending in a tie.

Prior to the 2012 season, NFL overtime was conducted in a sudden death format, meaning that the first team to score during overtime would be declared the winner. However, this often resulted in both teams playing conservatively in an effort to avoid making a mistake that could cost them the game.

In an effort to add excitement and scoring to overtime periods, the NFL adopted a new format prior to the 2012 season. Under the new rules, each team is guaranteed one possession in overtime, regardless of whether the first team scores or not. If the score is still tied after both teams have had a possession, then sudden death rules apply and whoever scores next will win the game.

The change in overtime rules has resulted in more excitement and scoring during overtime periods, as teams are now more willing to take risks in order to win the game. However, some critics argue that the new format gives an unfair advantage to the team that wins the coin toss and gets to choose whether to play offense or defense first.

The History of the NFL’s Overtime Rules

The NFL’s overtime rules have been through a lot of changes over the years. The first change was made in 1974, when the league introduced a sudden death overtime format. This format was used until 2011, when the league made some changes to the rules. The most recent change happened in 2017, when the league decided to give each team a chance to possess the ball at least once in overtime.

Pre-2017 Rules

The NFL overtime rules have undergone several changes throughout the years, with the most recent change happening in 2017. Prior to the 2017 season, if the score was tied at the end of regulation, the game would go into a sudden death overtime. This means that the first team to score would win the game, regardless of whether it was a touchdown or field goal. The sudden death overtime period would continue until one team scored and the other team did not.

Many people believed that this was unfair to the team that lost the coin toss because they would often times never even get a chance to possess the ball. In 2010, there was a proposal to change the overtime rules so that each team would get at least one possession regardless of who won the coin toss. However, this proposal was voted down by owners and never took effect.

In 2012, another proposal was made to change the overtime rules so that each team would get two possessions in overtime unless the team that won the coin toss scored a touchdown on their first possession. This proposal passed, and was implemented for the 2012 season.

However, after just two seasons of using this new overtime format, critics began to point out that there were still too many games ending in ties. In particular, there were three games in 2014 that ended in ties after both teams had failed to score on their second possession of overtime. As a result of these criticisms, NFL owners voted once again to change the overtime rules prior to the start of the 2017 season.

2017 Rule Change

In 2017, the NFL’s overtime rules changed in an effort to reduce the number of ties in games. The new rules state that a team must score a touchdown on its first possession of overtime to win the game. If the team fails to score a touchdown, the other team will have a chance to score. If neither team scores, the game will end in a tie.

Why the NFL Changed Its Overtime Rules

In 2012, the NFL made a change to its overtime rules, which had been in place since the league’s inception in 1920. The new rules stated that if a team won the coin toss, they could choose to either play offense or defense. If they chose offense, they could score a touchdown and win the game. If they chose defense, they could prevent the other team from scoring and then win the game.

To Create More Exciting Games

In 2017, the NFL’s overtime rules changed in an attempt to create more exciting games. In the regular season, each team is allowed one possession to score points in overtime. If neither team scores, the game ends in a tie. In the playoffs, there is no limit to the number of overtime periods that can be played. The team that scores first wins the game.

To Prevent Injuries

The change in the overtime rules was made with player safety in mind. In the old overtime format, both teams had the opportunity to possess the ball at least once. This meant that players were already on the field for a long period of time and were at an increased risk for injury. By eliminating this extra possession, the hope is that players will be less likely to suffer serious injuries.

How the New Overtime Rules Have Affected the NFL

In 2012, the NFL changed its overtime rules in an effort to make the game more fair and exciting. The new rules state that if the team that wins the coin toss scores a field goal, the other team gets a chance to score. If the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown, the game is over. These changes have had a major impact on the way the NFL is played.

More Exciting Games

In 2017, the NFL made a change to its overtime rules in an effort to make the games more exciting. The new rules state that if a team scores a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, the game is over. However, if the team does not score a touchdown, then the other team gets a chance to score.

The idea behind this change is that it will add more excitement to the game and make it more fair. In the past, teams would often just try to run out the clock and protect their lead. This would often lead to boring games that were not very exciting.

The new rules have definitely made games more exciting. In the 2018 season, there were six overtime games that were decided by a touchdown on the first possession. This was double the number of games from the previous season.

Overall, the new overtime rules have been well-received by fans and players alike. It has added an element of excitement to games that was previously missing.

More Injuries

The new overtime rules in the NFL have had a few surprising consequences. One of the most unexpected outcomes has been an increase in injuries during overtime periods. Studies show that players are more likely to be injured during overtime periods than during regular play. This is due to the fact that players are more fatigued and less able to avoid injury when they are on the field for extended periods of time.

Another consequence of the new overtime rules is that teams have been more conservative in their play-calling during regulation time. With the possibility of a long overtime period looming, coaches have been more likely to punt on fourth down or take other measures to avoid putting their players at risk of injury. This has led to some boring games, but it is understandable why coaches would want to take this approach.

Overall, the new overtime rules have had some unintended consequences. Injuries have increased and games have become more conservative. It will be interesting to see how these trends develop over time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the NFL’s overtime rules have changed several times over the course of the league’s history. The most recent change came in 2017, when the league made it so that both teams would have a chance to possess the ball in overtime, regardless of whether the team that won the coin toss scored a touchdown on their first drive. This was done in order to prevent one team from having an unfair advantage over the other.