Bears propose at least one possession per team in overtime

Posted by Mike Florio on March 18, 2015, 7:55 PM EDT
Getty Images

The Bears believe that their biggest rival got a raw deal in the NFC title game.

Last month, Chicago proposed that each team would be guaranteed at least one possession in an overtime game.  It’s one of the 23 potential changes submitted by the Competition Committee and by the NFL’s teams in advance of next week’s league meetings.

In 2010, the NFL changed the overtime procedure in the aftermath of the NFC title game between the Saints and Vikings, eliminating the ability to win the game with a first-possession field goal.  The new rule allows the team that receives the opening kickoff in overtime to win the game with a touchdown.

The Seahawks took full advantage of that rule in January, securing a berth in the Super Bowl by finally doing that which Matthew Hasselbeck once vowed they would do to the Packers.

There’s little momentum to do what the NFL should have done back in 2010, ensuring that a team can’t be eliminated from the postseason without having a chance to advance the ball.  The last change addressed specifically what happened when the Saints beat the Vikings.  Now, the NFL has a chance to address specifically what happened when the Seahawks beat the Packers.

Whatever the motivation for the Bears to submit the proposal, it’s surely not that they feel bad for the Packers.

Permalink 63 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

63 responses to “Bears propose at least one possession per team in overtime”

  2. I’m surprised the Bears didn’t propose a rule saying if a QB throws more than two interceptions, the quarterback’s contract can be immediately terminated without any hits against their cap.

  3. I don’t care for this. If you can’t stop them from scoring from a TD than you didn’t win. The current new rule has resulted in more ties. Defense should still mean something.

  4. I like it as it is. You want to win, hold the other team to a field goal or punt, or turnover. If each team has a 7 1/2 minute TD drive, then you’re into a 2nd overtime and I guess then it becomes sudden death? Or do we do college rules, but 80 yards instead of 25?

    When it comes to overtime, a team has had 60 minutes to try and win, so complaining you don’t get a chance after allowing a (usually) 80 yard drive is hard to evoke sympathy. The old rule of a FG ending the game on first possession needed change, the current rule does not.

  7. The Packers should have not been in that game, anyway. Dallas should have been. Dez caught the ball. The ref gave that game to GB. Seattle breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Dallas would not be coming back to beat them at home yet again. One man with a bad call changed NFL history.

  10. Not sure why posters think the rule shouldn’t be different between a TD and a Field Goal. Field goals are automatic anymore if you can get to around a 45 yard kick.
    A TD you have to march all the way down the field and the opposing defense has plenty of chances to stop the offense team from scoring.
    All they need to do is keep the team from scoring and then go down the field for a FG.
    If your defense can’t pull itself together to stop one drive your team shouldn’t win.

  11. Oh geeze. Here we go now.
    This thread will now become a boiling cauldron of back and forth of “leave it alone” and “it’s a great idea.”

  13. Bunch of sissies.

    F the crap that everyone deserves a fair chance.

    Like some other people have said, you had 60 minutes to win and didn’t. Then you had a chance to stop them from scoring again and didn’t.

    I guess people hate defensive players.

  14. Wow, that kind of change basically says, “Offense is the only thing that matters.” Is this really the same Bears that beat the Patriots in 85?! What happened to Defense being the key to champions?

  15. abninf says: Mar 18, 2015 8:17 PM

    The Packers should have not been in that game, anyway. Dallas should have been. Dez caught the ball. The ref gave that game to GB. Seattle breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Dallas would not be coming back to beat them at home yet again. One man with a bad call changed NFL history.
    —————————————————————-
    For the last time Dallas fans – you hadn’t stopped GB in the ENTIRE 2nd half. EVEN IF Dez catches and ball and EVEN IF Dallas scores. There was STILL 4:30 left on the clock. Do you really think your swiss-cheese defense would have magically stopped ARod in crunch time? NO.

    Plus, when you consider that GB had to kneel down after gaining 50 yards to run out the clock…

    Rub some dirt on it.

  16. After last season I think the Bears need to not worry about changing the rules and instead spend their time fixing their team to compete under the rules already in place. That roster needs a lot of work.

  17. buckybadger says:
    Mar 18, 2015 8:03 PM
    I don’t care for this. If you can’t stop them from scoring from a TD than you didn’t win. The current new rule has resulted in more ties. Defense should still mean something. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- there aren’t any ties in the playoffs. just saying

  18. At the very least this should be implemented in the playoffs. When a coin flip decides who gets a major advantage and who doesn’t, something needs to change.

  19. heres an idea: stop the opposing offense.

    this never would’ve mattered til this year if tyrell johnson had caught the interception that was in his hands but dropped; favre probably would’ve guided us down for game winning field goal… assuming only 11 players were on the field of course; good job childres!

  20. For everyone that says “just make a stop on defense,” you do realize that the other team doesn’t have to make a stop on defense right? It’s fundamentally unfair to make one team play defense while the other one may not have to based on whether the coin lands on heads or tails.

  21. Well, I’m not against it. I suppose it’s a good idea to throw out there, but it’s also great how it is now. As long as we can agree the old way sucked in retrospect. Having a coin give a team a decent advantage, cash in on a nice play to get to the opponents 15 yd line and send out the FG unit. At least now you make the offense earn it, 7 to win or go up by 3 and stop your enemy.

    But after all that jabbering, what are the REAL proposals?

  23. I think the College OT format is far superior and so is their replay system. How the nimrods in the League Office cant figure this out is amazing.

    With the OT, instead of giving each team a chance from the 25 start at the 40. Therefore each team gets a chance. First OT a team can kick an FG, moving forward they cannot. Second OT and beyond they have to go for 2 after a TD.

    The replay system in college is efficient and common sense.

  24. PLEASE NFL, PLEASE DO THIS!! The current rule is unnecessarily unfair to one team no matter what… I can’t understand how that was ever even agreed upon, honestly. Fix this.

  26. It only makes sense. A coin-toss at the start of a game determines who receives the ball first and equalizes it by giving the other team the ball in the second half. That should be emulated in an overtime period since it’s basically a new game. The OT coin-toss currently has too much importance.

  27. Still some butt hurt retarded Dallas fans? Even if Dez scored, there were almost 5 minutes left, and the Pack marched the ball down field and took a knee at at the end, they would’ve scored easily. They scored on every possession in the 4th quarter. Dallas D sucked badly, no way they deserve to win that game. And btw, Dez clearly dropped the ball when he hit the ground. Clearly.

  28. I used to side with the theory of if you want the ball stop them on defense, but with all the rules now in place now for more scoring in games I think both teams should get the ball at least once in OT. It’s just too easy to get a ticky tack foul on defense to keep a drive going leading to a score.

  29. This rule would be along the lines of the continuing trend of trying to completely discount defense in the NFL.

    If the defense can’t stop a team from getting a TD, they should lose. If they can make the stop, even to just a FG, the defense is rewarded for a job well done by giving the offense a chance.

    However, if they cannot do their job, why reward the team with a 2nd chance?

    The rule is perfect the way it is presently drawn up. It rewards defense when they deserve it, and when the D fails, they suffer the consequence of the loss.

  30. If you can’t stop the other team from scoring a TD on the first possession of overtime, you don’t deserve to win. Period.

  31. Keep it simple. First team to score four or more points in overtime wins. If neither team scores at least four points at end of fifteen minutes of overtime, the score at that point is the final score.

  34. The ironic thing is, their fans liked the current rules when they cost the Packers the NFC Championship.

  36. The controversial play in the Packers-Cowboys game shouldn’t have happened. On the Packers’ final drive of the 1st half, Randall Cobb was incorrectly given a catch, which extended their field goal drive. Without the FG, the Cowboys are only down 3 in the 4th quarter, so they kick a tying field goal. The Packers then go on to run out the clock and kick the winning FG, because they were already in their kicker’s range.

    Originally, the Cobb “catch” hurt Dallas. Ultimately, it was the Packers who got the short end of the stick from that call, because it caused the game to get to a position where the controversy could happened, thus give the Cowboys a reason to complain.

  37. I actually like the college thing, each team gets the ball at the 30. They alternate possessions if they tie. They must go for two in the third overtime.

  38. I love Dallas fans actually thinking their team is a true contender. The Bears stomped them a year ago in Solider Field. The Cowboys had a skate schedule and so did the Lions, niether is a true Superbowl contender. Dallas fans are one the most, if not the most delusional fan bases in the NFL.

  39. So if you’re against the proposed rule, you’re saying only one team should have to play defense. The game should be won by the team that plays the best aggregate game on offense, defense, and special teams.

  40. I believe this proposal is for all OT games. Not just in the playoffs. And it’s a great proposal. Both teams should get the football at least once in an OT game.

    It’s pretty silly not to give both teams a chance. And I mean both teams offenses.

  42. GB’s defense could stop a HS team. It was no coin flip that won the nfccg. People forgetting that its not just about the opposing qb and the chance they didnt get? Blame the D

  44. I’m in favor of each team being guaranteed at least one possession. My beef with the current rule is that that even though the Packers choked in regulation, it seems stupid to allow a playoff game to end in overtime with the league MVP sitting on the bench for the entirety of the OT period due to the rules. I’m not a fan of Seattle or GB, btw. You would think that the NFL, a league of offensive stars, would want to find a way to put those stars on the field for at least one possession of overtime.

  46. Or, if you insist on keeping the games short, how about this:

    Whoever gets the ball in overtime *must* score (a TD or FG). If they do not, then the defense scores one point (if it is the playoffs).

  47. What this is saying, in effect, is that the Defense doesn’t count as part of the team when OT comes around.

    They should go back to Sudden Death.

  48. Lame… there are no guarantees in life…. or football!

    Go back to true sudden death and let the defense play instead of coddling the offense down the field every possession.

  49. Maybe the Pack should propose that they create a defensive gameplan that would have stopped Seattle from scoring? Seems like they needed some help in that regard.

    This is the NFL: if a popular team/player loses a close game, everyone starts talking about changing the rules. Silly.

  50. Overtime: 4 downs from the 10. Then the other team gets 4 downs. Normal scoring rules apply: (TD, FG, 1 & 2 pt conversion.) A PAT may be attempted even after “4th down” except after a FG, of course. That’s one sequence. If it’s a tie score then, do another sequence. Each team gets the same amount of “possessions.” Eventually you’ll get a winner.

  51. You had 60 minute to win the game. If you are so poor on defense a team can march down and punch it in you are in no position to argue with the results.
    The other part is injuries from longer games.

  52. This is simple:

    If the team that wins the overtime toss scores on their first possession, the other team gets one possession to BEAT the other other team.

    If team A settled for a FG, team B needs a TD.
    If team A scores a TD, team B needs a TD AND a 2-point conversion
    If team A scores a TD and a 2-point conversion, game over (since there’s no way team B can win).

  53. Cowboy fans commenting that they should have been in NFC Championship Game because of the Dez catch/non-catch must have forgot about the Refs picking up the flag on the PI call against Hitchens.

  54. Honestly, the NFL should just adopt a similar rule to what the NCAA does for overtime. Alternate possessions from a certain point on the field (or kick off if they wanted) until it ends. I was on a team in college that had a seven overtime game- it was pretty exciting to be part of.

  55. Packers proposed 2 rule changes for the playoffs:
    1. Any time a ball is intercepted, the defender must drop to the ground immediately.
    2. Game time reduced from 60 minutes to 55 minutes.

  56. Everyone expressing the ‘defense should count’ sentiment is contradicting their own logic. If defense should count then make both teams have to use them. Same can be said for the ‘you had 60 minutes’ argument. The team that wins the OT toss had 60 minutes as well, but couldn’t close the deal either. Give them both the ball, it doesn’t give either team an advantage.

  57. If the NFL would look at how successful the NCAA has been with making rules pertaining to replay, certain penalties, and even overtime, They would be doing themselves and the fans a huge benefit.
    Personally, I hate the NCAA but in this case, they’ve made the game a very fair and level playing field.

  58. yyc2phx says:
    Mar 18, 2015 8:32 PM
    I agree… A playoff game shouldn’t be decided by a winning
    —___
    ____________________________
    It’s not the team has the opportunity to play gre
    at defense and then win the game8

  59. Football is a game of Offense, Defense and Special Teams.

    Anyone arguing that only testing 50% of your active roster in overtime is a good idea has no valid point.

  60. Football has always had an element of luck. This is represented by the coin-toss for OT. If you weren’t lucky enough to win that toss, then your defense needs to step up and stop the other team’s offense. You are not entitled to a free shot just because you lost the coin-toss. Earn it.

  61. The Packers had a chance to score in the overtime. All they had to do was stop the Seahawks or hold them to a field goal. There are still 2 phases to the game. This is coming from a Packer fan. Leave the rule.

  62. abninf, and Bearmeat81,

    We will never know what would have happened. You can’t say GB would not have gone down and scored a game winning field goal or touchdown. There probably would have be at least 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes left on the clock. There was 4 or 4:30 left on the clock when the play happened. Where Dallas had the ball there’s no way they could have bled that much clock. It would have been a goal to go situation

  63. Oh good grief. People here complaining about winning the coin toss being an “unfair advantage”? Grow up. It’s not like the coin toss losers have to play with 10 men on the field — THAT would be an unfair advantage. Why not demand all playoff games be played on neutral fields? Let’s eliminate all the advantages we can. Let’s require the QBs to be the same height, and the O-lines to be the same weight. And for playoff games, if the wind is blowing during overtime and one team scores, make the teams switch ends after the score so both teams have exactly equal conditions.

    [/sarcasm]

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.