On the other hand, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said: “If there was an appetite [for change], you want to be consistent. … You don’t want to have one set of rules for the regular season and another for the playoffs, but that’s just me.”

Jump to:
Mandatory possession | Two-point tries
Spot and choose | No sudden death
Shootout | No coin toss | No clock

TEAM-PROPOSED CHANGES

Mandatory possession

What would happen: It would guarantee each team a possession in overtime, no matter what happened on the opening possession. If one team has a point advantage after the first two possessions, that team wins. If the score remains tied, play would continue for up to 10 minutes, with the next score winning.

Pros: It eliminates the possibility of a one-possession overtime period in which the loser of the coin toss never plays offense. That makes overtime inherently fairer.

Cons: It makes some games longer than they otherwise would have been, a factor not only for the health of players but also for the diminishing entertainment value of longer games. It also lowers the impact of poor defense on the opening possession, and ties remain a possibility.

Grade: B+. This proposal has a good combination of increased fairness and minimal departure from the regulation vibe of a game. And while it could add an extra possession to some games, the game would still be shorter than if teams played an entire overtime period without sudden death.

play

Stephen A. Smith voices his disagreement with the NFL’s overtime rules after Jeff Saturday says he wouldn’t change them.

Mandatory possession, unless a 2-point conversion on first score

What would happen: A team could win on the opening possession of overtime by scoring a touchdown and then converting a 2-point attempt. Otherwise, a first-possession touchdown would still lead to a kickoff and the opposing team getting its own possession for a chance to tie it up or win outright.

Pros: It’s harder for a team to win a one-possession overtime. The three-year NFL average of conversion rates for 2-point attempts is 48.2%.

Cons: It reduces but does not eliminate the possibility of a one-possession overtime victory. It also introduces a potentially significant advantage for teams that are well equipped or otherwise excel at 2-point conversions. The Titans, who are sponsoring the proposal, have a strong power running game that makes it difficult for defenses to account for pass plays. Since hiring coach Mike Vrabel in 2018, they rank No. 10 in the NFL in 2-point conversion rate (58.3%).

Grade: C. This proposal is overtime purgatory. It doesn’t solve the issue it addresses, and it introduces a new factor to consider in the level of fairness. It might work well for the Titans, but it seems like it would have a net neutral impact.

OTHER POTENTIAL IDEAS

Spot and choose

What would happen: The winner of the overtime coin toss would have a new decision to make. Instead of choosing whether to kick off or receive, the coin toss winner could make one of two choices. It could decide where the ball would be spotted, with the loser of the coin toss choosing whether to play offense or defense first. Or it could choose to play offense or defense, and allow the loser to spot the ball.

Pros: This adds strategy and lowers the impact of luck as a factor in determining the opening possession, in theory making it fairer. Also, it would potentially be more entertaining.

Cons: Ultimately, it would lead to homogenous coin-toss decisions. Smart teams would identify the yard line where neither team would have an advantage — probably around the 13-15-yard line — and the coin-toss winner would likely make that the start of the opening possession most every time. It introduces an approach that isn’t used at other points in a game. Also, this format would heavily favor teams that embrace analytic thinking, which as we know is not all of them. Ties aren’t addressed here, either.

Grade: B. This structure is innovative but ultimately had no support when the Baltimore Ravens proposed it in 2021. NFL owners and their advisers aren’t ready to accept rules based on game theory, or even those that look like it — at least not yet.

Full OT period with no sudden death

What would happen: The teams would play a fifth quarter, be it 15 minutes or perhaps 10, and the team that is leading when the clock expires would win.

Pros: It’s exceedingly fair and reflects the structure of other games such as basketball. In suggesting this approach earlier this month, Buffalo’s Beane said: “[T]hat way, both teams will definitely have a chance and maybe even more than one possession.” It’s as close to following the structure of regulation as you can get. Remember, sudden death introduces a convenient but ultimately unique way of determining the outcome.

Cons: This brings a guarantee of longer games and would serve as a detriment to player health — and potentially entertainment value, as well. There could still be ties, even after the additional time and plays. And you would probably see a determined effort by teams in possession to drain the clock, which would detract from the point of adding a full-time period.

Grade: C. This approach could be an option for a playoff-only proposal, but to play a full 10 or 15 extra minutes in the regular season is probably too much football from a variety of perspectives. There are more efficient ways to declare a winner.

Shootout

What would happen: Broadly speaking, each team gets a certain number of red zone (or near-red zone) plays to score. This general format has been used at the high school and college levels, as well as by some alternative pro leagues. The specifics can vary, including requirements to use a 2-point conversion, but in most scenarios, the sides alternate until one team has more points than the other at the end of a round. (The new USFL will use a best-of-three-round format.)