The NFL is using the Pro Bowl to experiment and test out a new rule change to the game that they might implement into the regular season going forward, should it work out this weekend.
The rule change in question has to do with the onside kick, a facet of the game that has been rendered almost completely irrelevant in the last seasons due to an emphasis on player safety. Whereas players used to be able to get a running start at the ball when kicked, now they must remain stationary until the ball has been put into play.
Now, under the new changes that will be tested on Sunday, rather than kicking it onsides, a team can choose another path that might give them possession of the ball, according to The New York Times.
A team that has just scored can opt to run a single play from its own 25-yard line. If the team gains 15 yards, it gets to keep the ball, and the game continues. If it fails, the opposition takes over where the ball is downed.
So essentially, if you are hoping to get the ball back after scoring late in the game, rather than going for a low-percentage onside kick, you can try to convert a 4th-and-15 instead. With the success rate of an onside kick plummeting in the last couple of seasons, teams may be heavily in favor of the new rule change, as it gives them more control over their own destiny.
As fans of the game, it will undoubtedly be more entertaining to see a team actually have a chance to regain possession via a 15-yard conversion, rather than the crapshoot that is an onside kick.
There’s no telling how much we’ll actually see the rule be put into play on Sunday in the Pro Bowl, but it will absolutely be exciting whenever it’s given a chance to work.
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