Some rules in sport baffle me but last week the NFL finally fixed what I believed was the stupidest rule of them all. I am referring to Rule 16, which is better known as “the one possession overtime rule”.
Prior to last week, if a post-season game was tied, it would go to overtime and following a coin toss to determine which team starts with possession of the football, Rule 16 would kick in. The rule was that if the team that possessed the football first scored a touchdown on their opening possession, then they would instantly win the game - without the opposing team ever getting the chance to reply.
Over the past decade, teams that had won the overtime coin toss in the post-season had 10 wins and 2 losses, with seven of those wins coming by scoring a touchdown on the opening possession. The stats backed up just how unfair the rule felt. However, following a 29-3 vote by team owners, the rule has been amended so that post-season games will still feature sudden death scoring, but both teams will get an opportunity to possess the ball.
