PALM BEACH, Fla. — Twelve years ago, the NFL changed overtime in a significant way, for the first time in decades, based on the simple premise that kickers had become too good.
On Tuesday, the same sort of acknowledgment came on the league’s quarterbacks.
Overtime was modified again at the NFL’s annual meeting, by a resounding 29–3 vote, with an amended version of a proposal submitted jointly by the Colts and Eagles going into the rulebook. The change will guarantee both teams get a possession in overtime (but for the playoffs only), shifting from the previous format in which a touchdown on the extra period’s first possession could end the game.