Changes to the overtime rules put an entirely different twist on the NFL playoffs.
When the NFL playoffs get underway this weekend with the wild card games, it will mark the beginning of a new era for post-season overtime rules.
Under the new rules, if a team wins the coin toss and ends up kicking a field goal, the game is not over. The other team will now have an opportunity to either kick a field goal and tie the game or score a touchdown and win it. The only way a team can win in overtime on their first possession under the new rules is if they score a touchdown on their opening drive.
If both teams end up kicking a field goal on their first possession, then the game reverts to the old sudden death rules where the next team to score wins.
The defending team can win the game if they score a defensive touchdown or force a safety. Who could ever forget the 2003 playoffs when Matt Hasselbeck announced to the world that the Seattle Seahawks would accept the opening kickoff and score, then proceeded to toss a game-ending pick six to Al Harris of the Green Bay Packers?
There's another twist to the new rules. If a team decides to pull off an onside kick to start overtime and they recover, the receiving team will have been considered to have their chance to possess the ball. That means if you pull off an onside kick and score (field goal or touchdown), the game is over.
I asked a few coaches around the league if they would change their strategy for overtime under these new playoff guidelines.
Some, like Buffalo Bills coach Chan Gailey, were unequivocal when they told me they wouldn't change their strategy whatsoever.
Others, like Ken Whisenhunt of the Arizona Cardinals, have a much different take on the new format.
"There will be some definite strategic elements that you'd have to think through, whether you get the ball first or second and there are probably advantages to both. It does make it a lot different but I think it's a good change. You'd hate to lose a game -- especially a playoff game -- in overtime without the chance of ever getting the ball."
Whisenhunt's final statement was the main incentive behind this rule change. There was a ground swell of protest from NFL coaches, fans and some in the media that felt the old playoff overtime rule was unfair. The biggest belief was that the team that wins the coin toss in overtime almost always wins the game. The co-chairman of the league's competition committee, Rich McKay, told the NFL Network this week that since 1994, 59 per cent of teams that won the coin toss in overtime went on to win the game.
In 2009, two playoff games went to overtime. In the first one, the Packers won the coin toss and they had possession. The Cardinals ended up winning when Aaron Rodgers was sacked, fumbled the ball and then linebacker Karlos Dansby scored the game-winning touchdown. The outcome of this game would have been no different under the new rules.
The most well-known overtime game in last year’s playoffs took place at the Superdome when the New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. Under the new rules, the Saints would not have won that game. The Saints won the coin toss, put together a 10-play, 39-yard drive and then Garrett Hartley kicked the game winning 40-yard field goal. Under the new rules, the Vikings would have had a chance to either tie or win the game.
Each team will have three timeouts in overtime, but neither coach will be allowed to challenge any calls. All challenges in overtime will come from the replay officials and not from the respective head coaches.
The bottom line is that overtime for the NFL playoffs has been dramatically altered. How it affects the games and who ends up going to the Super Bowl will be fascinating to watch.
Your information will not be collected or used by sportsnet.ca for any marketing purposes.
