NFL Overtime Options

It happens every season, usually multiple times. Two teams end regulation with a tie score. The captains approach the middle of the field and wait for the coin toss which more often than not decides the winner of the game. The NFL's overtime system is one 15 minute quarter played in sudden death style. This means that if one team scores, the game is over. If neither team scores, the game ends in a tie.

The problem with the current system is that when a team wins the toss and receives the ball they will score on that drive more than half the time. If both teams have a possession, the chances of either team winning are about equal. This means that over 75% of the time, the team that has the ball first is going to win. Is this a fair way to determine a winner? Where three-quarters of the overtime games are decided based on a coin-flip? Many ideas have been proposed to fix this problem and we will look at a few below.

No FGs

Description: This season there were 16 overtime games played in the regular season. Of those 16 games, 13 ended with a field goal. In fact, since the start of the 2000 season, 128 regular season games have gone into overtime. Of those over 75% (97 games) have ended on a field goal in overtime. Since 2000, when overtime occurred in playoff games, 5 out of 8 were decided by a field goal. Many people think that since most professional kickers can hit from 50+ yards that field goals should not be allowed in overtime. This means that instead of teams driving about 45 yards to get into field goal range, they would be forced to drive about 80 yards to score a touchdown, thus giving the defense an extra 30+ yards to stop them.

Pros: This rule would create more chances for both teams to touch the ball.

Cons: This rule would lead to more ties and longer overtime periods. It wouldn't guarantee that both teams would still get a chance to touch the ball.

College Style

Description: College football has long operated overtime with their overtime system of alternating possessions starting from the 25 yard line. Each team gets the ball and tries to score. If both teams score in the same manner, they go to double overtime.

Pros: Both teams get a possession and chance to score.

Cons: These games can get very long and with NFL offenses who are very effective in the red zone, 4 or 5 overtimes might become commonplace. Also, statistics compiled in these overtime periods could skew player stats as scoring from 25 or fewer yards is much easier than scoring from 50+ yards.

At least one possession each

Description: Another suggestion being made is for the overtime period to begin with a guarantee that each team gets a possession, but after each team has had one possession if one team is ahead, that team is the victor. However, if the score remains tied, it becomes sudden death at that point.

Pros: Each team is given at least one possession.

Cons: The team that got the ball first is actually at a slight disadvantage because if they choose to settle for a field goal, the other team knows that that they only need a field goal and if they score a touchdown, the game is over.

Extra quarter

Description: Some fans want an entire quarter (15 minutes), or a reduced one (5 or 10 minutes). This would allow both teams to have a fair chance at touching the ball and would mean that one blown coverage does not end the game.

Pros: This could increase the chance that both teams would touch the ball.

Cons: This would not guarantee that both teams get a possession. After playing for 60 minutes, most players are exhausted. Playing another full quarter is too much to ask for most players. The partial quarters wouldn't be as difficult, but with shortened quarters a good offense could run out the clock and kick a field goal as time expires, thereby taking away the other teams chance at a possession. Playing an extra quarter would also lead to inflated stats.

Pick the Spot

Description: This method would have a coin flip to allow one team (Team A) to choose where the ball will be spotted and the other team (Team B) to choose whose ball it is. This would mean that if Team A chose to have the ball spotted at the opponent's 1 yard line and Team B chose to have the ball, they would have a very good chance to score. However, if Team A chose to have the ball played at the team's own 1 yard line, Team B might choose to play defense first to try for a defensive stop or even a safety.

Pros: This would mean that the team who won the coin toss would not necessarily be at an advantage.

Cons: While this would not guarantee that both teams would get the ball, field position could definitely play a factor.

One Play Shootout

Description: In this method both teams would get a chance to try to score. They would line up at the extra point line (the 2 yard line) and run one play. Then the other team would get a chance. Field goals would not be allowed. Another variation of this is running 3 plays from the 2 yard line, with the team that scores on more of their attempts being the winner. Either of these is similar to shootouts in soccer or hockey.

Pros: This would mean that each team had equal chances to win. It would be exciting to watch as there are a lot of scores from only 1 yard out.

Cons: This could lead to a large number of overtimes, especially if only one play is used per overtime. The league would have to decide how to count touchdowns scored in this method toward season statistics. Also, one bad play could end the game.

Eliminate OT

Description: At the end of regulation, if the score is tied, the game is over and the result is a tie.

Pros: Eliminates overtime controversy.

Cons: Ties get messy when it is time for playoffs. Ties count as half a win and half a loss, so a team with 9 wins and 2 ties has the same amount of wins as a team with 10 wins in the current seeding system. Ties are not good for the game, so this option would hurt the league.

In all, there are more options for fixing overtime than the NFL would like to think about. Many fans would like to see the "one play shootout" method or the "extra quarter" method used to decide games. Perhaps the most likely method for the NFL to consider is the "At least one possession each" method or the "College Style". In the end, I expect the NFL to talk about it at meetings again this spring, as they have done for a number of years, but ultimately decide that things are better left alone. After all, the NFL is huge and fans love the suspense in overtime where with one small slip - its over.