There is no doubt that the National Football League (NFL) is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. It’s popularity has only grown over the years, and it’s fans are now watching the games in record numbers. However, one thing that has not changed over the years is the fact that there are four overtime periods in each game, and they can last anywhere from 10 minutes to almost an hour. This article will explain how the NFL overtime rules work and how they are determined.
This post explains the rules of overtime in the NFL and how they work. It also gives you tips on how to play well in overtime.
Table of Contents
What are the NFL’s Overtime Rules?
The NFL overtime rules work as follows:
- Teams must attempt a field goal on their own 30 yard line or from the opponent’s 20 yard line. If the team fails to make the attempt or scores, the game is over.
- A team attempting a two point conversion must succeed or the game is over.
- A team must be down by three points or fewer to attempt a two point conversion.
- A team must possess the ball with less than four minutes remaining in regulation to attempt a two point conversion.
- The first overtime period is a sudden death period with each team having one possession.
- If there are only two teams left on the field, there is no extra time.
- If there are three teams, the team with the most points after one overtime period wins.
- If there are still only two teams, then there is a second overtime period.
- If there are only two teams left on the field, there is no extra time.
Regular Season Overtime Rules
In the regular season and the playoffs, overtime starts with a coin toss to decide who gets the ball first. The coin toss gives the team with possession of the ball an advantage, and after the coin toss there’s a 10-minute period. The first possession is critical in most football/soccer games. The team that gets the ball and kicks it off first has the advantage.
If the winning team scores a touchdown on the last play of the game, the next offensive drive is started at the 20 yard line. The last period ends in a tie if no one has scored yet. If you have a bunch of extra time left, then there’s no reason not to get creative and do something fun and entertaining with it. The NFL prohibits players from challenging calls in overtime. The referee can only review and overturn plays during the 10 minute period of time.
Overtime Rules in the NFL Playoffs
While regular season games can’t end in a tie, the biggest difference between regular season overtime and postseason overtime is that there can be multiple overtime periods at the end of the game. There is a 2-minute intermission between each overtime period.
In the second overtime, the team who lost the coin toss at the beginning of the first overtime can decide whether or not they want to receive the ball, or where they wish to defend, on their own half-line or on the goal line. There are five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The team that wins the coin toss gets to choose first and second down.
How Can a Team Win in Overtime?
The NFL season is divided into two halves, the regular season and the postseason. The regular season runs from September to January and playoffs are held from February to May. Teams that are involved in the playoffs have to play two games in one day. There are 16 games in a regular season and each team plays two games per week.
If a team wins in the first half of the game then it will win the game automatically. If the team has a score of 3 points then it will win the game with a field goal and if the score is 2 points then the game will be won with a touchdown.
However, if the team has a score of less than 3 points then it will be a tie and the game will go to overtime. In overtime the team that is leading in the first quarter will have a chance to score a touchdown. If the team scores a touchdown then the game will be won.
If the team is leading in the second quarter then it will be able to score a touchdown. If the team scores a touchdown then the game will be won.
If the team is trailing in the third quarter then the game will be decided by a coin toss. The team that wins the toss will have the first and last possession. If the team scores a touchdown then the game will be won.
If the team is trailing in the fourth quarter then it will have the last possession. If the team scores a touchdown then the game will be won.
Famous Overtime Games in the NFL
The longest football game ever played in NFL history was between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day in 1971. That game went into two overtimes, and lasted a total of 82 minutes and 40 seconds. Overtime at that time in the NFL consisted of 15-minute periods. The rule change in 2017 changed overtime from a sudden-death period to a 10-minute period.
Some were surprised when the New England Patriots upset the Kansas City Chiefs and made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2019. A lot of people didn’t understand the sudden-death rules, so the NFL put an end to that. The Kansas City Chiefs did not touch the ball before the game ended. These chain of events caused many people to petition pro football to adopt college football overtime rules.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when the clock runs out and the final seconds tick away, the team that scored the most points in the game wins. However, if the score is tied after regulation time and there are less than four minutes remaining, the team with the better record will receive the advantage in overtime. In the NFL, this is called the coin toss, where the two teams on offense and defense receive a flip of a coin. If it lands heads up, the team that gets the ball first will get to choose whether to receive or kick off.