We firmly believe that the NFL must change the current overtime rules, before a Super Bowl is decided by a coin flip, a kick return, a pass interference penalty, and a 45-yard field goal.
Fortunately, one of the men who’ll make the final decision agrees. Bob Glauber of Newsday reports that Giants co-owner John Mara, a member of the Competition Committee, fully supports the move. Unfortunately, Mara doesn’t believe the measure has the votes.
“I still think it’s an uphill battle because you have to get 24 votes to change it,” Mara told Glauber. “I don’t know if there are enough people around the league willing to change the current system.”
Per Glauber, the proposal emerged from the Competition Committee via a vote of 6-2, the same 75-percent success rate required for the rule to pass when presented to the full ownership.
We can’t understand why anyone in ownership would oppose it. For every team, there’s an equal chance that they’ll be victimized by the current rule as there is that they’ll benefit from it.
And if the proposal doesn’t pass, we hope a list of the franchises voting “no” emerges. For those teams, they’ll have no right to complain if they end up losing a playoff game in overtime based on a first-drive field goal.