The NFL owners voted and ultimately pushed through the proposed changes to the league’s overtime rules, but according to the Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, the Minnesota Vikings were opposed to the changes.
Per Goessling, a source claimed the team’s only hang-up was the time period for a possible second possession being extended beyond 15 minutes, if necessary.
So, as a reminder, both teams go through the coin toss as usual. Regardless of whether the first team scores a touchdown or field goal, the second team is guaranteed at least one possession with basically no time limit. If the second team evens things up, then they’ll initiate the traditional sudden death rules.
Goessling writes on Twitter:
“Their rationale in voting no was because the proposal that passed essentially removes any strategy from the coin toss, a source said. Teams will have no incentive to take the ball first, knowing they will get a possession and can win with a stop and a score.”
The rule change is only applicable during the postseason, while the regular season will continue to be run with the previous overtime rules.
For the NFL, the biggest objective was trying to keep games from essentially being won by the coin toss.
Here’s what the NFL’s new OT rule is trying to guard against: Over the past decade, teams that won the overtime coin flip in the postseason were 10-2, including seven of those 10 wins coming on the opening possession.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 29, 2022
The concerns for more teams opting to defer during opening overtime coin tosses makes sense. But is deferring really all that different from nearly every team taking the ball first in the previous setup?
Coin toss strategy won’t necessarily be a lost art in this setting.
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