BillsChiefsJosh AllenNFLPlayoffs

New NFL Rule! Sudden Death is a Thing of the Past in NFL Playoff Games

If there’s one thing the NFL loves more than a good sponsor it’s rules. The No Fun League can’t go an offseason with tweaking the rulebook.

Ten years ago, the league mandated that players wear only one 6 by 8-inch towel on the field.

The league made only one significant rule change this offseason, but it was a doozy. After the Buffalo Bills never saw the football in a 42-36 OT playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in an epic game, the league made major changes to its OT playoff format.

“Pain,” tweeted Buffalo QB Josh Allen, who opened the 2022 NFL season by inflicting some serious pain on the defending Super Bowl champion Rams. Allen racked up 353 yards in total offense and scored three touchdowns in a 31-10 rout.

Forget OT, this game was over after Allen connected with Stephon Diggs on a 53-yard touchdown that gave Buffalo its 21-point lead with 9:25 left. Back to playoff OT.

Both teams will have at least one possession in overtime. If one team is leading after the first possessions, we have a winner ladies and gentlemen.

If neither team scores, or, if the score is tied after each team’s first possession, the team that scores next wins. So, it goes for the remainder of a 15-minute OT period.

And if the score is tied after that first OT period, we go to a second OT. Or third, or a fourth, or until your entire half-keg is drained.

Which means you might not even remember who won.

There is one caveat to the new OT format that has flown under the radar and it’s a doozy. If the team that goes on defense first scores a safety, it’s game over.

And you thought having a great defense was only important in your fantasy league.

“I’m sure there’ll be moments where you feel like it’s a good decision,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes told reporters. “But then there will be moments when you score that touchdown first and you feel like it’s a bad one. So, you just go out there and play and try to win the game whatever way.”

 

 

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Lenn Robbins
Sports Journalist
Hi, I'm Lenn Robbins, a long-time sportswriter who still holds the detention record at Bildersee Junior High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., where I was born and raised. I came out of the womb a Mets fan, was baptized a Knicks fans and through the power of TV, became a Cowboys fan, which explains why I'm in group therapy. The name of my fantasy football league team is Sexual Chocolate. Anyone who can explain the origin of said team name, please h
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