# NFL Overtime: Some questions **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 22, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186 "2019-01-22T05:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steven\_Estes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Steven\_Estes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Estes)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/1 "2019-01-22T05:04:51Z")
If the team that gets the ball first in an overtime scores a field goal, the team that gets the ball second gets four downs to score. QUESTION1: If the team that gets the ball first doesn’t score and the team that gets the ball second scores a field goal, does the team that got the ball first get four downs to score or did it have its chance? QUESTION 2: If the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown, the other team doesn’t get four downs to tie (as it would if the first team had scored a field goal instead of a touchdown). What’s the logic behind the second team not having a chance to match the first team’s touchdown? QUESTION 3: If the first team scores a field goal and the second team scores a touchdown with their four downs, is the game over and the second team wins 6 (or 7) to 3? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/2 "2019-01-22T05:18:18Z")
First of all, it’s not correct to say that the other team gets “four downs to score”. They get to possess the ball as long as need be to score; giving up possession ends the game if the opponents scored a field goal. The logic behind the rule is as follows: If a team scores a touchdown with the first possession in overtime, then the defense had the chance to stop them, and failed. Failing to stop the offense from scoring a touchdown becomes a fatal failure. But if the team with first possession only scores a field goal, then the defense did it’s job (mostly), and now their offense should get to see what it can do. The way to think of it is this way: The overtime is sudden victory. Whoever scores first, wins. There is one simple exception to this rule: if the first possession of the ball ends in a field goal by the team possessing it, then the other team gets a crack at trying to tie-up or win the game. At that point, the game proceeds normally. If they fail to score, game over, they lose. If they score a field goal, game continues until someone scores again. If the score a TD, they win at once (no extra point is attempted). ---
**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:** [January 22, 2019, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/3 "2019-01-22T05:48:46Z")
It should be noted that overtime in the NFL is “sudden death” – the way that it was originally designed was purely “the first team to score in overtime wins.” This meant that, if the team which received the opening kickoff of overtime scored by any method (including a field goal), that team won, and the team which kicked off to start overtime never got a shot at possessing the ball. The NFL adjusted the rule several years ago, as they saw that the team which received the opening kickoff of overtime was winning the large majority of overtime games. They were usually winning via field goals, and the fact that kickers have gotten substantially more accurate (and from further out) over the past few decades was undoubtedly a factor in that. So, the rule was changed, to more-or-less what you quote. As DSYoungEsq notes, it’s not that the second team gets “four downs.” The way to think about it is this: under the current overtime rules, both teams are guaranteed to get at least one possession in overtime, _unless_ the team which gains the initial possession in overtime scores a touchdown on that possession. > [@Steven\_Estes](#): > > QUESTION 3: If the first team scores a field goal and the second team scores a touchdown with their four downs, is the game over and the second team wins 6 (or 7) to 3? Those details aren’t quite right (the “four downs,” as noted above, and the score doesn’t get reset to 0-0 at the start of overtime), but yes, that’s the basic idea. If the first team with possession during overtime scores a field goal, and the second team scores a touchdown, then the second team does win. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/4 "2019-01-22T06:14:36Z")
One other thing. In the regular season, if no one has scored or if each team made a field goal on their first possession and there is no other scoring, and the period ends, the game is tied. In the playoffs, they will start a new period as many times as needed until someone finally scores. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2019, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/5 "2019-01-22T06:22:27Z")
Also, to be complete, a safety would end the game, as well. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/6 "2019-01-22T06:37:56Z")
Another recent change is that during the regular season, overtime has been reduced from 15 to 10 minutes and if the score is still tied, its a tie/draw. As pointed out before, in the playoffs overtime is 15:00, but if the game is still tied, the clock is reset and the game played in 15:00 quarters until the score is resolved. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/7 "2019-01-22T08:34:22Z")
Why don’t they just have a truncated period of play, like say a 10 minute quarter or two halves of 7.5 minutes? Like in Soccer. Whoever is ahead after that time, wins. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/8 "2019-01-22T10:25:53Z")
Because sudden death is more exciting and football is too exhausting to play tired. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/9 "2019-01-22T14:33:54Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Because sudden death is more exciting and football is too exhausting to play tired. I’d argue that soccer is just as exhausting (maybe more so, as there no platoons), and I like the idea of a fixed OT with whoever is ahead at the end winning the game. BTW, has an overtime ever ended on a safety? ---
**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:** [January 22, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/10 "2019-01-22T14:49:18Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I’d argue that soccer is just as exhausting (maybe more so, as there no platoons), and I like the idea of a fixed OT with whoever is ahead at the end winning the game. > > BTW, has an overtime ever ended on a safety? From Wikipedia: > **[Records for safeties in football](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Records_for_safeties_in_football)** > > In gridiron football, a safety is scored when the ball becomes dead behind the goal line of the team in possession of the ball (unless the ball arrived in the end zone due to impetus from the other team). In most instances, a safety is scored by the defensive team when the ball-carrier of the team in possession of the ball retreats into his own end zone and is tackled or steps out of play from the end zone. A safety can also occur when the offensive team loses control of the ball and it goes o... Under NFL overtime rules first adopted in 1974, the first team to possess the ball in overtime wins immediately if they score a touchdown, and the team that kicks off to them at the beginning of overtime wins immediately if they score a safety. There have been only three walkoff safety wins in overtime in NFL history: Minnesota Vikings 23, Los Angeles Rams 21 (November 5, 1989) Chicago Bears 19, Tennessee Titans 17 (November 14, 2004) Miami Dolphins 22, Cincinnati Bengals 20 (November 1, 2013) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/11 "2019-01-22T14:52:34Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I’d argue that soccer is just as exhausting (maybe more so, as there no platoons), and I like the idea of a fixed OT with whoever is ahead at the end winning the game. I probably should have said that chances of injury from exhausted players would skyrocket. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/12 "2019-01-22T15:50:50Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > From Wikipedia: > [Records for safeties in football - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Records_for_safeties_in_football) > > Under NFL overtime rules first adopted in 1974, the first team to possess the ball in overtime wins immediately if they score a touchdown, and the team that kicks off to them at the beginning of overtime wins immediately if they score a safety. There have been only three walkoff safety wins in overtime in NFL history: > > Minnesota Vikings 23, Los Angeles Rams 21 (November 5, 1989) > > Chicago Bears 19, Tennessee Titans 17 (November 14, 2004) > > Miami Dolphins 22, Cincinnati Bengals 20 (November 1, 2013) That’s three more than I would have expected. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/13 "2019-01-22T16:04:16Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I probably should have said that chances of injury from exhausted players would skyrocket. Nonsense. There’s no indication that such happens when overtime goes the full allowed period, or, in the playoffs, goes longer than the normal period. Americans just prefer sudden victory in football for reasons of excitement. 😛 ---
**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:** [January 22, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/14 "2019-01-22T17:58:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > So, the rule was changed, to more-or-less what you quote. As DSYoungEsq notes, it’s not that the second team gets “four downs.” The way to think about it is this: under the current overtime rules, both teams are guaranteed to get at least one possession in overtime, _unless_ the team which gains the initial possession in overtime scores a touchdown on that possession. Some nitpickery - during the regular season, if the team which first possessed the ball scores a field goal just as the 10 minute clock elapses, the 2nd team does not get a possession. And if the first team scores a field goal, and the 2nd team gets the ball but the clock expires during their possession, the first team wins. During the playoffs, if the first team gets a field goal, the second team gets a full possession, even if the 15 minute clock expires. The game doesn’t end until/unless the second team scores a TD, has a turnover, or loses possession on downs. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/15 "2019-01-22T19:28:28Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I’d argue that soccer is just as exhausting (maybe more so, as there no platoons), … Not in a billion years. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/16 "2019-01-22T20:17:12Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Why don’t they just have a truncated period of play, like say a 10 minute quarter or two halves of 7.5 minutes? Like in Soccer. > Whoever is ahead after that time, wins. You could equally ask why doesn’t soccer have sudden death in extra time. > **[Golden goal | Abolition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_goal#Abolition)** > > Although both the golden goal and silver goal had their fans, both were also widely perceived as failed experiments. The golden goal in particular had not brought about more active and attacking play as originally intended and instead led to more cautious play along with furious angry reactions from a lot of players on the losing side, while there was also confusion about when events could choose among several different extra time rules. > In February 2004, the IFAB announced that, after Euro 2004... ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/17 "2019-01-22T20:20:05Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Another recent change is that during the regular season, overtime has been reduced from 15 to 10 minutes and if the score is still tied, its a tie/draw. As pointed out before, in the playoffs overtime is 15:00, but if the game is still tied, the clock is reset and the game played in 15:00 quarters until the score is resolved. Another clarification: in the regular season, the overtime period is treated like the fourth quarter, including a 2-minute warning, except that each team has 2 timeouts. In the postseason, it is as if the game has started over; each team has 3 timeouts over the length of the first two OT periods, and there is no 2-minute warning in the first OT period, although, if the game lasts that long, there is one in the second OT period. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/18 "2019-01-22T21:23:00Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Another clarification: in the regular season, the overtime period is treated like the fourth quarter, including a 2-minute warning, except that each team has 2 timeouts. In the postseason, it is as if the game has started over; each team has 3 timeouts over the length of the first two OT periods, and there is no 2-minute warning in the first OT period, although, if the game lasts that long, there is one in the second OT period. There’s also a new kickoff to start the 3rd overtime period (and I assume the 5th, 7th, etc) ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/19 "2019-01-23T06:05:50Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Nonsense. There’s no indication that such happens when overtime goes the full allowed period, or, in the playoffs, goes longer than the normal period. Americans just prefer sudden victory in football for reasons of excitement. 😛 With all due respect to soccer (BIG fan) there is an average of 7 injuries per NFL game v 2.2 for soccer; even when adjusted for roster sizes when you consider NFL players wear helmets, pads and only play 16 games a year it’s easily a much more dangerous sport. A soccer style overtime would be disastrous in American football. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186/20 "2019-01-23T11:59:41Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > With all due respect to soccer (BIG fan) there is an average of 7 injuries per NFL game v 2.2 for soccer; even when adjusted for roster sizes when you consider NFL players wear helmets, pads and only play 16 games a year it’s easily a much more dangerous sport. A soccer style overtime would be disastrous in American football. > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Both codes of Rugby use a “soccer style” extra time. Of its still even, then they have attempted trys (Union) or sudden death (League). Plus, the point is that it would be employed for stuff like knock out games or Finals (which would be Playoffs and the Super Bowl I would guess). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-overtime-some-questions/828186.md?page=2)