# NFL 2018 Regular Season **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 30, 2018, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323 "2018-11-30T06:29:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/121 "2018-12-10T17:46:31Z")
Every new Washington quarterback who takes the stage gets told “Break a leg!”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/122 "2018-12-10T18:02:43Z")
Kaepernick’s lawyers are probably pulling choice snippets from the latest Redskins game as evidence for their lawsuit. It really is ludicrous that anyone would choose Sanchez at QB over even trying to call Kaep. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/123 "2018-12-10T19:01:47Z")
[Reggie McKenzie is out](https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1072182127473672193) It’s 100% Gruden’s team now. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/124 "2018-12-10T19:08:38Z")
> [@HookerChemical](#): > > If only there were somebody available who’s capable of backing up Alex Smith. Yeah, before this week I hadn’t heard anything about Josh Johnson since 2014. You know, when he was the third string QB in San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/125 "2018-12-10T19:53:09Z")
So on that wacky last-moment lateral play by the Dolphins, who gets credit for the yardage? It shouldn’t be the QB, because he only threw the first forward pass and had nothing to do with the subsequent laterals. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/126 "2018-12-10T20:07:31Z")
The QB still gets it, I’m pretty sure. It’s just like a pass with a lot of yards after the catch, except the yards are split among three players. It counts as receiving yardage for Drake, even though the ball was lateraled to him. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/127 "2018-12-10T20:20:01Z")
Maybe they need stats for “assists” like basketball. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/128 "2018-12-10T20:31:57Z")
Ah ok thanks. Another question: I know that in NFL new OT rules, if the team that wins the coin toss kicks a field goal, the other team gets a chance to respond. But what if the first team drains all the time off the OT clock and kicks a field goal as overtime expires? Does the 2nd team still get a “chance to respond?” ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/129 "2018-12-10T20:34:14Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Ah ok thanks. > > Another question: I know that in NFL new OT rules, if the team that wins the coin toss kicks a field goal, the other team gets a chance to respond. But what if the first team drains all the time off the OT clock and kicks a field goal as overtime expires? Does the 2nd team still get a “chance to respond?” Nope, the end of OT is the end of the game. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/130 "2018-12-10T20:46:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Ah ok thanks. > > Another question: I know that in NFL new OT rules, if the team that wins the coin toss kicks a field goal, the other team gets a chance to respond. But what if the first team drains all the time off the OT clock and kicks a field goal as overtime expires? Does the 2nd team still get a “chance to respond?” > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Nope, the end of OT is the end of the game. That’s the case for the regular season, but not the postseason. It’s specifically addressed in the [OT rules](https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2018-nfl-rulebook/#article-3.-extra-period): Section 4.a - Regular season: “There shall be a maximum of one 10-minute period, **even if the second team has not had an opportunity to possess the ball** or if its initial possession has not ended. If the score is tied at the end of the period, the game shall result in a tie.” Section 5.a - Postseason: “If the score is tied at the end of a 15-minute overtime period, or **if the second team’s initial possession has not ended** , another overtime period will begin, and play will continue, regardless of how many 15-minute periods are necessary.” So I think that means in the postseason, if the first team to get the ball somehow burns the whole 15 minutes and kicks a field goal as the clock expires, the second team still gets a possession. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/131 "2018-12-10T21:13:31Z")
This week, the longest drive was by the Jaguars, which gnawed 8:15 off the clock and ended on a 4th-and-goal at the 1. For a team to move the ball for 10 minutes (in the regular season) is basically unheard of (extremely rare), and between teams that have fought to a tie, not something to count on. If you can grind out ten minutes, you can almost certainly score a TD, which ends the game (the other team does not get a “chance to respond” to a TD). ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/132 "2018-12-10T21:14:05Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > The Dolphins got the ball at their own 31 with 7 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. To try for a field goal they would have to move the ball at least 20 yards and get out of bounds in less than 7 seconds. Even if they managed that, they had to then kick a long field goal. Realistically, the Dolphins had one play to score regardless of what the Pats did, so the field goal did nothing for the Pats. A TD would have put the game out of reach. The field goal left it within reach so the effect of making the FG was the same as missing it. You are confusing situations. Assume the Patriots do not kick the field goal. Assume they attempt a TD, and fail. The ball turns over to the Dolphins at the spot of failure, with whatever time was left on the clock. I believe, IIRC, that was about 14 seconds. That’s plenty of time for two targeted pass plays and a field goal to win. As it was, the Patriots kicked the field goal, then had to kick off to the Dolphins. The Dolphins only got the ball where they did, when they did, after they attempted a kick-off return. So continuing to harp on “seven seconds” misses the point entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/133 "2018-12-10T23:59:18Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > You are confusing situations. > > Assume the Patriots do not kick the field goal. Assume they attempt a TD, and fail. The ball turns over to the Dolphins at the spot of failure, with whatever time was left on the clock. I believe, IIRC, that was about 14 seconds. That’s plenty of time for two targeted pass plays and a field goal to win. > > As it was, the Patriots kicked the field goal, then had to kick off to the Dolphins. The Dolphins only got the ball where they did, when they did, after they attempted a kick-off return. So continuing to harp on “seven seconds” misses the point entirely. New England called a timeout with 21 seconds on the clock, and they had the ball on the Miami 4 yard line, 4th down. They kicked the FG, which left 16 seconds on the clock. They then kicked off and after the kickoff return, seven seconds remained. Had NE run a play with 21 seconds left, it almost certainly would have run 5 seconds or more off the clock. If they run a designed rollout which results in an incomplete pass, even more seconds are gone. But assume that Miami gets the ball with 16 seconds left on their own four, down 2 points. The career long FG for their rookie kicker is 50 yards. So they would need to get to the NE 35 for a 52-yarder. That means they would have to move the ball about 60 yards in two plays, both of which need to end up with the receiver going out of bounds (or a defensive penalty). I like the defensive chances to prevent one of those two plays. Hindsight is obviously great, but if I’m NE, I think I go for the TD rather than the FG. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/134 "2018-12-11T01:21:44Z")
key lime pie ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/135 "2018-12-11T02:06:45Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > New England called a timeout with 21 seconds on the clock, and they had the ball on the Miami 4 yard line, 4th down. They kicked the FG, which left 16 seconds on the clock. They then kicked off and after the kickoff return, seven seconds remained. > > Had NE run a play with 21 seconds left, it almost certainly would have run 5 seconds or more off the clock. If they run a designed rollout which results in an incomplete pass, even more seconds are gone. > > But assume that Miami gets the ball with 16 seconds left on their own four, down 2 points. The career long FG for their rookie kicker is 50 yards. So they would need to get to the NE 35 for a 52-yarder. That means they would have to move the ball about 60 yards in two plays, both of which need to end up with the receiver going out of bounds (or a defensive penalty). I like the defensive chances to prevent one of those two plays. > > Hindsight is obviously great, but if I’m NE, I think I go for the TD rather than the FG. Wrong. How often in NFL history has a team done what the Dolphins did (score a TD starting at their 30 with no time outs and 7 seconds on the clock? The answer to that question shows that NE did exactly the right thing. A miracle is not something you bother to try and strategize for. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/136 "2018-12-11T02:50:23Z")
Interesting sequence at the end of the first half. Minny had all 3 of their timeouts and opted not to use any with Seattle on a long drive moving the ball inside the red zone with potential to get another first down inside 2 minutes, which they ended up getting. Seattle then burned their final timeout and ran a designed QB rollout. Minny’s pass rush was all over him and had him retreating backward. Normally a quarterback might take the sack when the game clock isn’t a factor. Wilson coughed up a horrific interception that would have been an easy pick 6 if the defender didn’t stumble. 1st & 10 at MIN 14 (1:44 - 2nd) M.Davis left end to MIN 10 for 4 yards 2nd & 6 at MIN 10 (1:04 - 2nd) M.Davis up the middle to MIN 5 for 5 yards 3rd & 1 at MIN 5 (0:25 - 2nd) (Shotgun) R.Wilson left tackle to MIN 1 for 4 yards (0:16 - 2nd) Timeout #3 by SEA at 00:16. 1st & Goal at MIN 1 (0:16 - 2nd) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short right INTERCEPTED by E.Kendricks ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/137 "2018-12-11T02:57:08Z")
Russell doesn’t screw up like that very often. A very rare dumb play from him. “Bonehead” was what the announcers said and I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/138 "2018-12-11T03:57:12Z")
Well Seattle seems to be okay despite the disappointing end to the first half. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/139 "2018-12-11T04:55:01Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > That’s the case for the regular season, but not the postseason. It’s specifically addressed in the [OT rules](https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2018-nfl-rulebook/#article-3.-extra-period): > > Section 4.a - Regular season: > “There shall be a maximum of one 10-minute period, **even if the second team has not had an opportunity to possess the ball** or if its initial possession has not ended. If the score is tied at the end of the period, the game shall result in a tie.” > > Section 5.a - Postseason: > “If the score is tied at the end of a 15-minute overtime period, or **if the second team’s initial possession has not ended** , another overtime period will begin, and play will continue, regardless of how many 15-minute periods are necessary.” > > So I think that means in the postseason, if the first team to get the ball somehow burns the whole 15 minutes and kicks a field goal as the clock expires, the second team still gets a possession. Not even that. If the first team only takes 10 minutes off the clock and kicks a field goal or turns it over, the second team gets to finish their possession, whether it takes 3 minutes or 12. The theoretical maximum possession from a touchback, 5 seconds per play (run three yards, fall down, pile up doesn’t take very long), no fourth downs, no penalties, and exactly 10 yards per first down is is 18 minutes, with the last set of downs starting at the opponent’s five. The actual longest NFL drive was just under 13 minutes while only going 53 yards, and the Navy Midshipmen took almost 15 minutes off the clock back in '04, though that drive started almost backed up against the Navy endzone. It’s POSSIBLE to take up that much time, but it’s highly improbable, given that it’s never happened in over 10,000 NFL games. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/140 "2018-12-11T08:47:14Z")
I would just like to throw a shout-out to my beleaguered Giants, as a franchise. I remembered the Giants Bills Superbowl as involving many long drives by the Giants in an effort to keep Jim Kelly’s K-Gun offense on the bench. The wiki article on that game states: The Giants opened the 3rd quarter and resumed their original game strategy by driving 75 yards in 14 plays […] The drive consumed a then-Super Bowl record 9:29 (since surpassed by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII) So they set the record for longest drive in the Super Bowl in 1990, and then broke their own record in 2007. Where, of course, they were repeating the exact same strategy to keep Tom Brady on the bench. That alone wasn’t worth posting, until I saw this: > [@Chisquirrel](#): > > The actual longest NFL drive was just under 13 minutes while only going 53 yards That record was set by the Giants in the NFC Conference Championship game in 2000, when they annihilated the Vikings something like 41-0. It was weird that they canceled the Superbowl that year instead of playing it, but whatever. As a franchise, the Giants sure do love long, clock-killing drives. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323.md?page=8)