The NFL will have new overtime rules for the playoffs starting the 2022 season. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league approved the change that allows both teams to possess the ball in OT for postseason games. If the game still remains tied, the sudden death rules apply.
Schefter adds that the overtime rules will remain the same for regular-season games. This means that the game ends if the first team that possesses the ball in OT scores a touchdown on their first drive.
There has been a significant momentum to revamp overtime rules in recent years. Those who wanted the change argued that the team that wins the coin toss has a considerable advantage. NFL’s data, however, paints a different picture. The teams that had the first drive in OT won 50% of the time since the current rules were instituted in 2012. The percentage has gone up to 54% since 2017 when the overtime period was shortened from 15 to 10 minutes.
However, the win percentage for the coin toss-winning teams goes way up in the playoffs. In 12 games that went to OT, the team that won the coin toss ended up winning the contest 10 times. This is likely the reason why the league made the change only for the postseason.
NFL owners considered several proposals for overtime rules during their recent annual league meetings. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts proposed that each team is guaranteed a possession in overtime in both regular season and playoff scenarios. On the other hand, the Tennessee Titans proposed a tweak that would allow the coin toss-winning team to end the game if they score a touchdown and make a two-point conversion on its first drive.
