New OT Rules In Effect This Weekend

When the NFL playoffs begin this weekend, they will feature a new rule for overtime.

If a team wins the coin toss and receives the overtime kickoff,

it does not automatically win the game if it kicks a field goal on

the opening series. The team that kicked off then gets a

possession.

If the trailing team also kicks a field goal, the game

continues. If it scores a touchdown, it wins. And if it does not

get any points, it loses.

The tweak was made last March, two months after Garrett

Hartley’s field goal won the NFL championship game for New Orleans

over Minnesota on the opening series of OT.

Coaching staffs have put plenty of thought into how to deal with

the new rule.