Sometimes, rules come full circle.
At one point, the NFL decided to stop the clock after a sack. Later, the NFL decided that, in the final two minutes of a half, that rule gives an unfair advantage to the offensive team. In those situations, the clock no longer stops.
Now, the NFL could be going back to the way it once was.
The Competition Committee will recommend to ownership that the clock keep running after any sack. Currently, it’s the only play involving a tackle in the field of play that results in the clock stopping.
While the rule won’t result in dramatic time savings, it will make the games, on average, a little bit shorter.
Like all proposed rule changes, 24 of 32 owners must vote in favor of the change. It’s hard to think of any reason not to change this rule. Indeed, it’s hard to think of why the rule was changed to stop the clock in the first place.