Last updated on November 3rd, 2023 at 07:13 am
With American Football games being four quarters set to fifteen-minute intervals, sometimes a game needs additional time to decide a winner. The extra time during a football is overtime. Starting in 2022, both sides will have a chance to have possession of the ball in overtime, even if the receiving team scores a touchdown. This rule change is something new that is in effect in 2022.
So how does the NFL overtime work, what are the rules, and what famous games took place during overtime in history?
Here is the complete guide to overtime in the NFL!
When Does a Game Go into Overtime?
If after four quarters the game is in a tie, then the game moves into overtime. Overtime works by having both sides meet at the center of the field for a coin toss. The visiting team chooses which side of the coin will win the flip. If they (visiting team) chooses the right answer, they can elect to receive or kick the ball to start overtime.
What Are the NFL’s Overtime Rules?
The NFL has several rules for overtime, depending on what time of the year it is in the football season. The regular season rules allow the game to end in a tie if neither team scores in the extra period.
In the postseason, however, games will always end with a winner. Starting in 2022, the new rules for postseason overtime allows both teams to get possession of the ball, even if the receiving team scores a touchdown on their first drive.
Also, overtime is eliminated during the preseason to limit opportunities for injury before the regular season.
What are the Regular Season Overtime Rules?
In the regular season and the postseason, overtime starts with a coin toss to decide who gets the ball first. After the coin toss, there’s a 10-minute period. During a regular season game, games can tie if there is no winner after a ten minute period.
In addition to these rules about scoring, each team will get two timeouts. The NFL prohibits coaches from challenging calls during overtime. The replay official can only review and overturn plays during the 10 minutes.
Overtime Rules in the NFL Playoffs
Since playoff games can’t end in a tie, the most significant difference between overtime in the regular season and the postseason is that there can be multiple overtime periods at the end of the game. There is a two-minute intermission between each overtime.
At the start of the second overtime, the captain who lost the coin toss at the beginning of the first overtime can decide where they want to receive the ball or which end zone they wish to defend. This back and forth continues until the fourth overtime expires, at which time there will be another overtime coin toss, and play will continue until there is a winner.
In the postseason, both teams must have the chance to score a touchdown. Unlike previous years where the receiving team would automatically win the game if they scored a touchdown on their drive, the defense has the chance to counter.
What Was the Previous Way to Win in Overtime Before 2022?
Before the rule change in 2022, the game ends after the first score of the period. This winning score can be from a touchdown, an interception converted to a touchdown, or a safety. The only exception is if the first drive of the period ends in a field goal. In this case, there will be a kickoff, and sudden-death play will start.
Sudden death rules significantly depart from the college football overtime format, which allows each team to score. In this ruleset, the overtime ends only when a team doesn’t score to match the points gained on the previous drive.
Famous Overtime Games in the NFL
The Longest Game in NFL History took place between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day in 1971. That game went to two overtime periods and ended after 82 minutes and 40 seconds of play. At that time, the NFL rulebook dictated that overtime comprised of 15-minute periods. The league instituted a rule change in 2017 that reduced overtime to 10-minute periods.
The sudden-death rules came under fire in the AFC Championship game in 2019, when Tom Brady’s New England Patriots scored a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on the opening drive of the period. Patrick Mahomes, the opposing quarterback, didn’t touch the ball before the game ended. This chain of events caused many people to petition pro football to adopt college football overtime rules.
The first Super Bowl to end in overtime was Super Bowl LI. The New England Patriots scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons to send the game into extra time. The Patriots then won the coin toss opted to receive the ball first. They marched the ball down the field on the opening possession and scored a touchdown, winning by six.
Conclusion: How Does an NFL Overtime Work
An NFL overtime period decides a game that is tied at the end of regulation. There are different rules for overtime depending on whether it’s a playoff or regular-season game. If the match occurs during the regular season, there will be only one 10-minute overtime period, with the game ending in a tie if unresolved. However, teams will continue to play during the postseason until a winner is declared.
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Greg Kristan, owner of The Stadium Reviews, LLC and TM Blast, LLC, brings his extensive experience visiting over half of the MLB ballparks, along with numerous MLS, NHL, NBA, and NFL venues, to provide in-depth coverage on the bag policy, food options, and parking. He has also been interviewed about his experiences on several sports podcasts.