Final February NFL followers witnessed one thing by no means seen earlier than.
A lead change on the ultimate play of the Tremendous Bowl.
The rationale? Tremendous Bowl LVIII turned the primary playoff recreation underneath the league’s new time beyond regulation guidelines for the postseason, carried out for the 2022-2023 season. As we’ll evaluate in a second these adjustments assured every workforce an opportunity to own the soccer in time beyond regulation. After the San Francisco 49ers kicked a subject objective, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs drove down the sector and scored the game-winning landing on the ultimate play of Tremendous Bowl LVIII.
With the NFL playoffs about to get underway, we thought this was the right time to revisit the time beyond regulation guidelines for the postseason.
Since you by no means know when you’ll need to know them, and it pays to be ready.
Why did the NFL change the time beyond regulation guidelines for the playoffs?
The AFC Divisional Spherical recreation between the Chiefs and the Buffalo Payments on the finish of the 2021-2022 NFL season thrilled followers in a back-and-forth affair. Josh Allen and the Payments scored a go-ahead landing with simply 13 seconds remaining in regulation, however that was nonetheless sufficient time for Mahomes to get Kansas Metropolis in vary for a subject objective to power time beyond regulation.
Regardless of the thrilling end to regulation, the time beyond regulation ending left many followers unsettled.
Kansas Metropolis received the coin toss and went proper down the sector towards an exhausted Payments protection, scoring a landing to advance to the AFC Championship Sport. Beneath the time beyond regulation guidelines in place, all Allen and the Payments offense may do was watch.
Within the weeks that adopted, followers clamored for a unique time beyond regulation format, and the NFL listened. The league’s homeowners authorized a revised time beyond regulation format, guaranteeing that every workforce would have a possession in time beyond regulation. The brand new format was authorized by a 29-3 vote.
What are the NFL time beyond regulation guidelines for the playoffs?
All playoff video games that advance to time beyond regulation will comply with these revised guidelines:
- If a recreation is tied on the finish of regulation, the referee will toss a coin to find out which workforce will possess the ball first in time beyond regulation. The visiting workforce captain will name the toss.
- Each groups may have a chance to own the soccer. That is the large change. Beforehand, as we noticed within the 2022 AFC Divisional Spherical recreation between Kansas Metropolis and Buffalo, if the workforce that began with the soccer scored a landing, the sport was over. Beneath the brand new guidelines, in that situation, Buffalo would get an opportunity to match with a landing of their very own, and in the event that they did, the sport would proceed. As soon as each groups have had possession, the sport then turns into sudden dying. As well as, if the workforce that begins with possession scores and kicks the additional level to take a seven-point lead, the second workforce can win with a landing and a two-point conversion.
- If the rating remains to be tied on the finish of an time beyond regulation interval — or if the second workforce’s preliminary possession remains to be in progress — the groups will play one other time beyond regulation interval. Play will proceed no matter what number of time beyond regulation intervals are wanted for a winner to be decided.
- There can be a two-minute intermission between every time beyond regulation interval. There is not going to be a halftime intermission after the second interval.
- If the sport stays tied after two time beyond regulation intervals, there can be a second half. The captain who misplaced the primary time beyond regulation coin toss will both select to own the ball or choose which objective his workforce will defend until the workforce that received the coin toss deferred that alternative.
- Every workforce will get three timeouts throughout a half.
- The identical timing guidelines that apply on the finish of the second and fourth regulation intervals additionally apply on the finish of a second or fourth time beyond regulation interval.
- If there’s nonetheless no winner on the finish of a fourth time beyond regulation interval, there can be a 3rd coin toss, and play will proceed till a winner is said.
- There aren’t any instantaneous replay coach’s challenges; all critiques can be initiated by the replay official.
What occurred in time beyond regulation of Tremendous Bowl LVIII?
Final season’s Tremendous Bowl gave followers their first have a look at the brand new playoff time beyond regulation guidelines in motion. Months of debate over how groups would possibly deal with the state of affairs had been lastly examined.
And lots of had been left questioning if the 49ers had been prepared.
San Francisco received the coin toss, and made the choice to obtain the kickoff, regardless of many theorizing that underneath the brand new guidelines it made extra sense to defer. With each groups assured a possession, understanding what it’s essential rating to win the sport provides a aggressive benefit, much like how groups in school need to begin on protection in time beyond regulation, so that they know what they should do on offense to win.
As a substitute, the 49ers started on offense, and will solely handle a subject objective. That opened the door for the Chiefs to win the sport on their assured possession with a landing, which is strictly what they did.
Talking after the sport, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the workforce had run via the varied situations, and thought by beginning on offense they’d have the benefit if the sport superior to a 3rd time beyond regulation possession, and sudden dying.
“None of us have a ton of expertise with it,” Shanahan mentioned. “We went via all of the analytics and talked to these guys. We determined it might be higher getting the ball as a result of if each groups matched and scored, we wished to be those to have an opportunity to go win it.”
The issue? The sport by no means bought to that third time beyond regulation.
What to look at this season?
The ending of Tremendous Bowl LVIII has given groups one instance of the brand new time beyond regulation guidelines in motion.
As such, you would possibly count on that ought to time beyond regulation come up on this season’s playoffs, groups will need to begin on protection, given how the Tremendous Bowl ended a 12 months in the past.
One situation that has not been examined but? The influence of the two-point conversion. After Tremendous Bowl LVIII Kansas Metropolis indicated that if crucial, they’d have gone for 2 on the finish of their possession to attempt to win, slightly than kick an additional level and lengthen the sport to a 3rd time beyond regulation possession.
Ought to time beyond regulation come up on this 12 months’s playoffs, will the two-point conversion come into play?
I suppose we must wait to search out out.