When Did the NFL Change the OT Rules?
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When did the NFL change the overtime rules? This is a question that many football fans have been asking lately. The answer may surprise you.
Introduction
The National Football League (NFL) is the most popular sports league in the United States, and its popularity is only increasing. In 2019, the NFL brought in an average of $8.1 billion in revenue, up from $7.4 billion in 2018.1
Despite its popularity, the NFL is not without its critics. One of the most common critiques of the NFL is its overtime rules. For years, critics have argued that the NFL’s overtime rules are unfair and need to be changed.
In 2017, the NFL made a change to its overtime rules in an attempt to address these criticisms. This change has been met with both positive and negative reactions from fans and observers.
What prompted the NFL to make this change?
In overtime, each team is given one possession to score. If the score is still tied after both teams have had the ball, the game ends in a tie. This sudden death format is used in the NFL regular season and playoffs. In 2017, the NFL changed the rules for playoff games only. Now, if the team that has the ball first scores a touchdown, the game is over. If they score a field goal, the other team gets a chance to possess the ball. If they don’t score at all, or if they score a safety, then it’s sudden death and whoever scores next wins.
The purpose of this change was to add excitement and reduce the likelihood of tie games. In the 2017 season, there were 3 tie games out of 256 regular season games (1.2%). In 2016, there were 6 tie games out of 256 regular season games (2.3%).
How do the new OT rules differ from the old ones?
In the NFL, overtime is an extension of the fourth quarter. The purpose of overtime is to eliminate the possibility of a tie game. Under the new rules, each team gets one possession unless the team that has the ball first scores a touchdown, in which case the game ends. If neither team scores, or if both teams score field goals, the game enters a sudden death overtime period. In sudden death OT, the first team to score wins the game, regardless of how they score.
In 2017, NFL owners approved a rule change that modified how overtime works in the playoffs. In the regular season, if a game is tied at the end of regulation, each team gets one possession to try and score. If neither team scores, or if both teams score field goals, the game enters a sudden death overtime period. In sudden death OT, the first team to score wins the game, regardless of how they score.
In playoff games before 2017, if a game was tied at the end of regulation, each team got one possession to try and score. If neither team scored, or if both teams scored field goals on their first possession, then it would go into sudden death OT where whoever scored first would win regardless of how they did it. However, starting in 2017, each team is guaranteed at least one possession even if their opponents score on their first drive of OT. If both teams score touchdowns on their opening drives in OT then it goes into sudden death like before.
What has been the reaction to the new OT rules?
The NFL implemented a new rule for overtime in 2017, and the reaction has been mixed. Some fans and analysts feel that the new rules give an unfair advantage to the team that wins the coin toss, while others believe that the changes will add excitement and intrigue to the extra period.
In the past, overtime in the NFL consisted of each team getting a chance to possess the ball once, with the first team to score winning the game. However, under the new rules, if the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown on their first drive, the game is over. If they score a field goal, then their opponent gets a chance to score. If both teams end up scoring field goals, then it becomes a sudden death situation where whoever scores next wins.
Critics of the new system say that it places too much importance on winning the coin toss, as well as not giving each team an equal opportunity to score. Supporters argue that it adds excitement and keeps viewers engaged for longer periods of time. Ultimately, time will tell whether or not these changes are successful or popular with fans.
How have the new OT rules affected the game?
In recent years, the NFL has made a number of rule changes aimed at making the game safer, more exciting, and more fair. One of the most controversial changes came in 2017, when the league $expanded$ its playoffs to include an additional team from each conference. This “wild card” team would play in a Saturday afternoon game, with the winner advancing to play one of the top-seeded teams in the divisional round.
The NFL also $changed$ its overtime rules for the 2017 season. In the past, if the score was tied at the end of regulation, each team would get a chance to possess the ball and score. If neither team scored, the game would end in a tie.Under the new rules, if both teams are still tied after each team has had a chance to possess the ball in overtime, then each team will get one more chance to score from anywhere on the field. If neither team scores on its final possession, then the game will end in a tie.
These changes have had a major impact on how games are played and how teams prepare for them. In particular, teams now have to be much more aggressive in trying to score points early in overtime, because if they don’t they may not get another chance. As a result, we’ve seen some very high-scoring games over the past few years.
Conclusion
The current overtime rules were introduced in 2012. The rules state that each team gets one possession in overtime, unless the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown on its first drive, in which case the game ends immediately. If neither team scores on its first drive, or if both teams score field goals, then the game proceeds to a second overtime period, during which both teams must possess the ball at least once. If neither team scores in the second overtime period, or if both teams score field goals again, then the game ends in a tie.
