The NFL's annual league meetings have been taken place, and new rules have been issued as a result. We already covered how the league will now allow teams to wear alternate and throwback uniforms up to four times this season, an increase from three. Now they have issued another rule that I am sure will be popular among fans.
Starting in 2025, the NFL's regular season overtime rules have been amended. Now, both teams, regardless of what happens during the first possession, will get an opportunity to possess the ball. The previous overtime policy for the regular season gave a key advantage to whichever team won the coin toss. If Team A won the coin toss and scored a touchdown on their first possession of overtime, the game was concluded. Team B would only get a chance at the ball if they forced Team A to punt, snagged a turnover, or held them to a field goal.
Now, both teams will get a chance with the ball. This reflects the overtime policies for the postseason.
NFL owners now have passed a rule that both teams will be allowed to possess the ball in overtime in the regular season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 1, 2025
The original proposal was for a 15 minute OT; that now has been amended to 10 minutes.
Fans have been clamoring for this rule change for years, but dialogue ramped up during the classic divisional round game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills during the 2021 playoffs. The Chiefs outlasted the Bills 42-36 in overtime, having received the ball first, denying Josh Allen (who was electric during this game) an opportunity to respond.
Personally, I am largely indifferent towards this particular rule change, because I honestly don't think there was much of an issue with the previous system. Yes, winning the initial coin toss was a key advantage, but there was one simple solution for the team that had to go on defense first: get one stop. One! Force a punt. Get a turnover. Shoot, merely hold them to a field goal, and your team would then get a chance to go on offense. The Bills, in that fateful game, had not one but two(!!) opportunities to get a stop. There was the one drive in overtime, where they surrendered a touchdown, but also in the literal final seconds of regulation. Buffalo held a 36-33 lead with 0:13 seconds left on the clock, but allowed the Chiefs to march 44 yards in three plays to tie the game up with a field goal.
Folks love to bring up that game, yet don't seem to mention the following week, where the Chiefs were in another overtime playoff game. Kansas City, once again, won the coin toss and got the ball to start the extended period. However, the Bengals did what Buffalo could not: they got a stop! Cincinnati safety Vonn Bell intercepted Patrick Mahomes, creating a stop, and giving his team a shot in overtime with the ball.
Another example towards both of these points involves the Seattle Seahawks. They did benefit from the previous system during the iconic 2014 NFC Championship game. Seattle won the coin toss, got the ball first, and scored a touchdown to send them back to the Super Bowl. Buuuut the Packers shouldn't have even been in such a situation. They ...
