NFL owners reportedly OK 10-minute overtime, so get ready for more ties
Overtime in the NFL is going from 15 minutes to 10 minutes in an effort to reduce injuries
By
Ryan Wilson
•
1 min read
In an effort to shorten the game and reduce injuries, overtime will now be 10 minutes instead of 15 minutes, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
@RapSheet @NFL There have been 83 overtime games in the last 5 seasons
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) May 23, 2017
22 of them lasted at least 10 minutes into OT (26.5 percent)
As PFT points out, if this rule existed in 2016, the Buccaneers would have avoided a late loss against the Raiders and the tie would have put them in the playoffs over the Lions. Additionally, three other games were decided in the final five minutes of overtime; the Steelers beat the Browns, the Dolphins beat the Bills and the Chiefs beat the Broncos.
In related news, the NFL is expected to relax its touchdown-celebration rules for 2017 -- group celebrations, using the ball as a prop after touchdowns, going to the ground and snow angels are all now legal while offensive and sexually suggestive gestures remain forbidden.
Additionally, the league will do away with 75-man roster cutdowns in the days leading up to assembling the final roster. Instead, cutdowns will go from 90-man rosters to the 53-man rosters teams maintain throughout the regular season.
