Fans should appreciate new overtime change that cost the Rams in 2024
The Los Angeles Rams battled back from a 17-3 deficit against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 of the 2024 season. L.A. managed to tie things up at 20 entering overtime, yet never got a chance to capitalize on their momentum. Detroit got the ball first, and David Montgomery sent the rowdy Ford Field crowd home happy with a 26-20 win.
The anticlimactic finish completely sucked the air from a game expected to have a thrilling finish.
On April 1, NFL owners passed a rule change that would prevent a similar ending from happening in the future. Both teams will now have a chance to possess the ball in overtime.
The NFL’s owners have passed a rule change that will allow both teams to possess the ball in overtime during the regular season, per source.
The overtime period will remain just 10 minutes.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 1, 2025
This rule will be consistent with the one already in place for the postseason. The only difference is that the regular season will have a 10-minute period, while the playoffs are 15 minutes. Teams that won the coin toss had a better chance at coming out on top.
The NFL has changed its regular season overtime rules so that both teams will always possess the ball (matching the playoffs)
Since OT was shortened to 10 minutes in 2017, teams that won the coin toss have gone 67-44-7 pic.twitter.com/VblPwxQji9
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) April 1, 2025
There is simply nothing more deflating than seeing your team never having a chance in overtime. Some fans can complain all they want that overtime isn’t meant to be fair. Truth is: no one cares what you think. After saying that, most people probably don’t care what I think either. Touché.
Following the Rams-Lions Week 1 bout, I wrote a post criticizing the league’s overtime rules and urged them to change them. Holy crap, did the NFL actually listen to me?! Well, the Eagles proposed the change, but I beat them to the punch.
While the new overtime rule is for the best, the NFL must quit making all these changes every few years. That is how you know their overtime rules were deeply flawed to begin with. If the league really wants to make better improvements to the extra period, they must adopt college rules.
In college, both teams get one possession from the 25-yard line and alternate possessions until a definite winner is crowned. Out of anything, that is the most “fair” option, but the league would never adopt anything so logical. For now, the new overtime rule change makes sense for what it is.
