The NFL is considering changing their current overtime rules format…again.
This time, however, the rule changes should please most fans. The league seeks consistency in resolving its tie games by making the regular-season and postseason overtime rules the same.
NFL is moving closer to making overtime rules the same in regular season as the playoffs. League executive Troy Vincent said “it’s time to rethink the overtime rule” and the Competition Committee agrees it needs to be addressed. Receiving the ball in OT has become more of an…
— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 26, 2025
“In the regular season, overtime currently consists of a single 10-minute period,” Sports Illustrated reports. “If the team that receives the ball first on offense scores a touchdown, the game is over. If it only scores a field goal, the other team gets a possession to attempt to tie or win the game. If the team that opens the period with the ball doesn’t score, sudden-death rules apply, and the next score wins. If neither team scores in the 10-minute period, the game ends in a tie.
“In the postseason, overtime is considerably different. Postseason overtime periods are 15 minutes long, and both teams are guaranteed a possession. If the game is tied after both teams possess the ball, the next score wins.”
Since 2011, the team winning the overtime toss has won the game over 56% of the time, so the game’s outcome has become increasingly determined by a coin flip. This scenario isn’t acceptable to most fans, players, coaches, and owners, who have millions of dollars and thousands of hours invested into the outcome of regular-season contests, which go a long way toward determining postseason qualifications and seeding.
It’s good to see the league finally doing something about it,
