# New NFL playoff overtime rules **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 23, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535 "2010-03-23T21:16:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/41 "2010-03-24T13:17:08Z")
**ekweizn** , thanks for bringing that up. In Peter King’s SI article, he cites 2 reasons the owners voted for the change: increased accuracy of field-goal kickers and the 1993 change of moving the tee back to the 30 on kickoffs. There’s nothing that can be done about the kickers’ accuracy (and I think it’s a good thing that they’re making more of their attempts), but it’s child’s play to fix the second. If they point to better field position as a cause of the OT disparity (and at least King certainly does), then move the kickoff tee forward again to the 35 - put the returner further back on his end, and you won’t have the offense starting on the 40 (on average) anymore. I’m not certain why they added a potentially confusing and ambiguous rule just to the playoffs when there’s an easier fix. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/42 "2010-03-24T14:35:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Says who? Not only do they let you _see_ them, they let you _buy_ them: > > [Official Rules of the NFL: NFL: 9781600782893: Amazon.com: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Official-Playing-National-Football-League/dp/1600782892/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269380522&sr=1-2) Except not really. What they’re selling is an abridged edition, not the official rules, no matter what the book’s cover says. The only book review in the link you posted to is not glowing, giving it only 2 stars out of 5 and saying: > [@](#): > > Maybe I shouldn’t have bought this book; we have a difficult time finding the information we want in it. It’s probably our inexperience. As an example, just this morning we spent a quarter hour trying to find clear and specific definitions or descriptions of what the guy covering the pass receiver can and cannot do. It must be in there somewhere, but we couldn’t find it. One major problem is that the book lacks an index. That is really a shame because it makes the definitive source for all these rulings on the field less accessible to an average reader. I assume that for a more experienced reader with a serious interest in the game, this book would be a wonderful resource. I hope we can figure out how to use it more successfully. One thing that we find really peculiar: so far as we can tell, the official rules are not for sale in the NFL store on its website. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/43 "2010-03-24T14:36:36Z")
I don’t care for the rule change and I 100% oppose bringing it to the regular season. Remember, the NFL won’t cut away from your local team’s telecast. So, you could be sitting there watching a meaningless game late in the season dragging on into OT while the late game is already halfway through the first quarter. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/44 "2010-03-24T14:44:28Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > There’s nothing that can be done about the kickers’ accuracy… They could reduce the width of the uprights, couldn’t they? Making the kickers aim for a smaller target would surely reduce their accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/45 "2010-03-24T14:54:35Z")
I just don’t understand why they couldn’t simply set a fixed time for overtime, vs. sudden death. Not only would it do a better job of ensuring both teams have a chance to score, but it would call for clock management, which sudden death completely ignores. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/46 "2010-03-24T15:01:28Z")
Thread title changed per OP’s request. **Ellen Cherry Moderator with the Mostest** ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/47 "2010-03-24T15:21:40Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > They could reduce the width of the uprights, couldn’t they? Making the kickers aim for a smaller target would surely reduce their accuracy. I 'spose they certainly could, but then there’d either be a delay as they changed the uprights for the OT or the narrower uprights would affect the entire game. They probably don’t want such a momentum break and they certainly don’t want lower scoring games, so I don’t know if this is a workable solution. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/48 "2010-03-24T15:49:00Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > What happens if the team that wins the toss fails to score, and the other team scores a FG on their first possession? > > I don’t think the rule needed changing, I don’t think this was a good change, and I don’t like having different rules for the playoffs. That sums it up for me. Having different rules for the playoffs is moronic and so is having different rules for different teams depending on who has the ball. I thought this problem appeared only after they moved the kickoff to the 35 from the 30, so just move it back to the 30. Or make them play the whole quarter if you have to. This seems like the worst way to handle this. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/49 "2010-03-24T16:48:23Z")
It was said above, but they had different rules for the playoffs already. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/50 "2010-03-24T16:59:38Z")
> [@Flymaster](#): > > Also, they don’t explain what happens if the first possession ends simultaneously with the first overtime period. This seems like a real edge case. The overtime period is still 15 minutes, right? Has any team held the ball for an entire quarter? Joe ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/51 "2010-03-24T17:03:41Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > I 'spose they certainly could, but then there’d either be a delay as they changed the uprights for the OT or the narrower uprights would affect the entire game. They probably don’t want such a momentum break and they certainly don’t want lower scoring games, so I don’t know if this is a workable solution. Snickers, you said you like FG kickers’ increased accuracy, and that’s a fine opinion, but if I had my druthers the importance of FGs in the game would be decreased. As you noted it’d be silly and impractical to reduce the width of the uprights during the game, however, I’d be perfectly happy with the powers that be reducing the goal posts’ width for each and every game, OT or not, regular season or not. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/52 "2010-03-24T17:14:16Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > It was said above, but they had different rules for the playoffs already. They don’t, though. The only difference is that in the regular season, you have a tie after 15 minutes, and in the playoffs you keep going. The game is played in exactly the same manner; the difference is that the tie has to be broken, so the action continues. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/53 "2010-03-24T17:18:13Z")
Why have overtime at all ? Except for the playoffs, of course. If the game ends 10-10, it’s a tie. ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/54 "2010-03-24T17:20:21Z")
> [@ESPN.com](#): > > Those statistics showed that since 1994, the team that won the overtime coin toss won the game 34.4 percent of the time on the first possession. This is more important than the 59% win rate of the winner of the flip. If a team wins the toss, fails to score, than wins the game on a later possession, the arguement about both teams touching the ball is not relevant. Therefore the statement stating the the winner of the flip wins the game 59% of the time has no real meaning. I wouldn’t call 35% (that’s how often the other team even gain posession) a troubling rate. There is no overwhelming advantage to winning the toss…unless the other team has a bad defense…or you have a great kicker…or the wind is at your back…or ect… We’ve done this before and stats bear out the slightest advantage to winning the toss…nothing worth changing the rules for. Best option here is to leave it alone. To insist upon a change, then move the kickoff back to the 30, which would increrase the chances of the other team getting the ball a little. This rule change is moronic, and it troubles me that it passed by an overwhelming majority (28-4.) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/55 "2010-03-24T17:22:50Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Why have overtime at all ? Except for the playoffs, of course. If the game ends 10-10, it’s a tie. Ties suck and generally have no place in civilized society. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/56 "2010-03-24T17:26:31Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > There’s nothing that can be done about the kickers’ accuracy They’ve already changed the rules about balls used for kicking (maybe a decade or so ago). It used to be that kickers were allowed to use balls that have been “broken in” a bit (making them rounder, and easier to kick); now, kickers have to use brand-new, never-used balls (colloquially called “K-balls”, because they’re stamped with a K to indicate what they are to be used for). Even with that change, kickers are still much more accurate, to a greater distance, than they were a generation ago. ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/57 "2010-03-24T17:27:40Z")
> [@AndyPolley](#): > > Best option here is to leave it alone. To insist upon a change, then move the kickoff back to the 30, which would increrase the chances of the other team getting the ball a little. This rule change is moronic, and it troubles me that it passed by an overwhelming majority (28-4.) And I meant to say back to the 35, from the 30. Making touchbacks (and deep returns) more likely. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/58 "2010-03-24T17:47:42Z")
> [@AndyPolley](#): > > Best option here is to leave it alone. To insist upon a change, then move the kickoff back to the 30, which would increrase the chances of the other team getting the ball a little. This rule change is moronic, and it troubles me that it passed by an overwhelming majority (28-4.) I always thought moving the kickoff back would be enough to level the playing field. My “fun” idea was the loser of the toss gets the opportunity to decide on the line of scrimmage (or kickoff spot, if you want special teams in this), and winner of toss decides whether to accept or defer. Kind of the football version of “I cut, you choose.” ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/59 "2010-03-24T19:24:48Z")
To those who don’t like the different system for playoffs than regular season - they are now discussing making the rule in place for all games: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5024325](http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5024325) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535/60 "2010-03-24T19:57:45Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > Thinking about this, I wonder if the team winning the coin toss is now at a disadvantage. > > The defending team doesn’t need to stop them cold, they just need to keep them out of the endzone. The team with the first possession will essentially have 3 downs to make a first down. If they fail, they either kick a field goal or punt. The second team now takes possession and if they are down a field goal, will automatically have 4 downs to gain a first down. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Well, the team that wins the toss can elect to defend. So it’s more accurate to question whether the first team to play defense has an advantage. Basically, the first team to play offense has to go the length of the field to win, but if it fails to score, then the other team only has to get within FG range to win. Put another way, if the first team has the ball on the opponent’s 25 and it’s fourth down, it can’t kick for the win, but if the second team is in that situation (and the first team has not scored), it can. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-nfl-playoff-overtime-rules/533535.md?page=4)