Rule Change in Nfl Easy to Score
With Overtime Rules Changed, What Other NFL Rules Should Be Examined Next?
Colin E. Braley/Associated Press
NFL players and fans can finally stop arguing about whether the current overtime system is fair—at least until the next playoff game ends in questionable overtime fashion.
On Tuesday, NFL owners approved a modified overtime rule that will guarantee both teams a possession during the postseason. Previously, a defensive score or touchdown on the opening possession would end overtime before it reached true sudden death. Now, if a team wins the coin toss, gets the ball and finds the end zone, the opposition will have a chance to match.
In theory, the new rule will make postseason overtime fairer, and that's a good thing. It's also a significant change and perhaps the first of many to be considered this offseason.
The league generally implements multiple rules changes and tweaks during the offseason—seven changes occurred in 2021—and with overtime out of the way, it's fair to wonder what rules could be examined next.
Below, you'll find a look at several current rules that could and perhaps should be tweaked to improve the game, aid in officiating and/or strengthen the competitive balance. First, though, let's dig a little further into the new state of playoff overtime.
The New Overtime
Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
The passing of the new overtime rule was nearly universal—it succeeded with a 29-3 vote—and it was largely sparked by last year's playoff classic between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo and Kansas City repeatedly traded scores late in the fourth quarter only for the Chiefs to win with a walk-off touchdown in overtime.
"Not allowing Josh Allen, the best player in today's game, to touch the ball in overtime is one thing the NFL must fix," Emmanuel Acho of Fox Sports 1 tweeted after the game.
The outcry against overtime was similar to what we saw during the 2018 playoffs when Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs never got the ball in overtime against Tom Brady's New England Patriots. Since true sudden death was eliminated in 2010, the team that won the overtime coin toss is 10-2 in playoff games.
"Where we saw that most having an influence, I think, was 12 games in the postseason that have been in overtime, seven of which were won on the first possession," Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday, per NFL.com's Nick Shook. "When you see that, that's the type of thing that I think our coaches and everyone looked at—this is an issue in the postseason we should deal with."
This wasn't the only overtime proposal presented at the owners meetings in Florida, and the new rule isn't perfect. Folks will still complain when both teams score touchdowns and a walk-off field goal wins it. However, it's hard to argue that it isn't a fairer system than what was previously in place.
For now, overtime will go to the back burner. What rules could be next for the owners and the competition committee to examine? Let's take a look.
Roughing the Passer and Leading with the Helmet
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Quarterbacks are the faces of NFL franchises, and the league takes care to protect them. Roughing the passer penalties are regularly called and for a variety of reasons.
Hitting a quarterback late, driving a quarterback to the ground, leading with the helmet, initiating contact with the head or hitting a quarterback low are all ways to draw that type of penalty. The result is 15 yards and an automatic first down for the offense.
While the penalty for roughing the passer seems fair, the implementation of the rule often isn't. Officials have to make judgment calls on whether a foul occurred, and they're not always right. Back in 2018, for example, then-senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron admitted that Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was incorrectly called for roughing the passer against the Pittsburgh Steelers:
"Because the question we get all the time is, well, what do you want our players to do? Well, they have to not put the weight on the quarterback. And this one [on Garrett] yesterday showed, even though there is some body weight on [Steelers quarterback] Ben [Roethlisberger], this is not what we would consider contact that rises to the level of a foul."
Questionable calls of landing on the quarterback with excessive force or weight have become common, and coaches should have the right to challenge a roughing-the-passer penalty they believe is wrong.
The same should be true for unnecessary roughness penalties that involve leading with the helmet. It's difficult for officials to determine in real time whether a player intended to lead with the helmet or "target" someone. Officials can miss calling these too—like on this helmet-to-helmet hit that wasn't called during the 2021 postseason.
In short, roughing the passer and illegal use of helmet penalties should be subject to review and able to be challenged. These are plays that can dramatically impact a game.
Holding, False Start and Offsides
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Penalties at the line of scrimmage might not draw as much attention as personal fouls, but they can have a major impact on a game.
How many times has your favorite team gotten a big offensive gain or a defensive interception, only to have the play called back because of holding or offsides? It happens frequently in the NFL, and officials don't always get it right.
Sometimes holding isn't, well, holding at all. Other times, a star pass-rusher—like Steelers sack artist T.J. Watt on this play—gets held without a flag being thrown.
Sometimes a defender times the snap well enough that he appears to be offsides when he isn't. Other times, officials completely miss a false start—like this one that wasn't called against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI—or calls one that didn't occur.
Officials can only see plays from certain angles in real-time, and that's their only chance to make a call. They aren't going to get it right 100 percent of the time, but teams have no recourse if a holding, offsides or false-start penalty is called or not called incorrectly. These plays are currently not reviewable.
The NFL needs to change that rule to make games fairer. One could argue that all penalties should be reviewable, but plays at the line of scrimmage and in traffic can be particularly easy to miss.
Yes, opening up these types of penalties to review and challenge would slow the game down some, but not dramatically. Teams still only have two challenges per game, and they wouldn't waste one on a five-yard penalty unless the impact is significant.
Calls like offsides, holding and false starts could also be easier to call correctly with the aid of a sky judge, which the NFL currently doesn't have.
The Sky Judge (or Lack Thereof)
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The NFL took a big step in the right direction in 2014 by allowing replay officials in New York to help make calls during games. From NFL Operations:
"Replay officials collaborate with senior officiating staff members in Art McNally Gameday Central (AMGC) in New York and the game's referee to ensure a timely and accurate review. They oversee a team that includes a video operator, replay technicians, replay field communicators and a replay assistant."
The NFL could take another positive step toward accurate officiating by allowing the use of a sky judge.
"Another change that has seemed possible in the near-future is a sky judge—someone who could make officiating calls based on what they see on a television feed in the sky box," ESPN's Kevin Seifert wrote.
As retired NFL referee and ESPN officiating analyst John Parry explained, the sky judge could serve as a safety net.
"The intent is to fix things that are very specific, very clear and objective. Is the foot out of bounds? Is the ball clearly out?" Perry told Seifert. "The intent is to move the game along correctly without the coach needing to use a challenge."
What fans see on television isn't necessarily the same footage that replay officials see in New York or under the hood on the sideline. If the footage exists and can help officials make the right call, the NFL should take advantage of that.
The league should be willing to accept as many camera angles as it can get to ensure proper officiating, although the sky judge doesn't appear to be on the horizon for now. Mark Maske of the Washington Post wrote the following in January:
"The NFL will consider further tweaks to the instant replay system in the wake of this season's officiating issues, including Saturday's inadvertent whistle that affected the Las Vegas Raiders' playoff loss at the Cincinnati Bengals, but remains wary of going to a full-fledged 'sky judge' arrangement, a person familiar with the league's thinking said Sunday."
Pass Interference
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Pass interference probably won't be a reviewable play again anytime soon. The league tried it in 2019 and quickly abandoned it.
However, the league should consider how pass interference is enforced. From NFL Operations:
"It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player's opportunity to catch the ball. Pass interference can only occur when a forward pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, regardless of whether the pass is legal or illegal, or whether it crosses the line."
The issue here stems from the discrepancy between offensive and defensive pass interference. Defensive interference (DPT) results in a spot foul and automatic first down. Offensive pass interference (OPI) is a 10-yard penalty and loss of down.
This makes chucking a ball deep into coverage a viable strategy for offenses looking to get big, easy yards quickly or for a free 1st-and-goal opportunity. The rewards for throwing deep and for a receiver initiating contact far outweigh the risks.
The NFL could consider adopting the college rule for DPI, a 15-yard penalty, instead of a spot foul in all but the most egregious cases—straight-up tackling a receiver beyond 15 yards should be discouraged. It could also consider a harsher penalty for OPI.
NFL rules will generally favor the offense, but the current rule is unfair and leads to too many cheap chunk plays.
Fumbling Through the End Zone
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The NFL's rules on fumbles that go out of bounds are clear: If a loose ball goes out of bounds, the team that last had clear and obvious possession retains possession. The exception to this rule is when the ball goes out of bounds in the end zone.
From NFL Operations:
"If a ball is fumbled in the field of play, and goes forward into the opponent's end zone and over the end line or sideline, a touchback is awarded to the defensive team. If a ball is fumbled in a team's own end zone or in the field of play and goes out of bounds in the end zone, it is a safety, if that team provided the impetus that sent the ball into the end zone (See 11-5-1 for exception for momentum). If the impetus was provided by the opponent, it is a touchback."
The first scenario deserves a long look from the competition committee. Losing possession along with 20 yards of field position is an overly punitive consequence for an offense that fumbles over the goal line and out of bounds.
Chris Chase of Fox Sports labeled this the "dumbest rule in the NFL" back in 2016, and others appear to share the same opinion.
"Makes no sense that if you fumble at the 1 out of bounds, you get to keep the ball but if you fumble in the endzone out of bounds, you lose possession," independent reporter Dov Kleiman tweeted last January. "Worst rule in football."
Finding a perfect solution won't be easy, but it might not be necessary. The new overtime rule isn't perfect, but it's a good start to fixing a noted problem. The NFL could look for something similar here—perhaps eliminating the change of possession but still moving the ball to the 20-yard line.
The current rule creates a massive momentum swing that only seems to make sense for the team that benefits from it.
Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2954904-with-overtime-rules-changed-what-other-nfl-rules-should-be-examined-next
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