If the NFL adopts an odd rule proposal from the Colts, a nine-point game will be a one-possession game.
The Colts will propose a new rule at next week’s league meeting that would allow teams to try for a “bonus point” after a successful two-point conversion. So if a team lines up for a two-point conversion attempt and succeeds, that team would then line up at the 32-yard line and try a 50-yard field goal. If the kick is good, the team would get one point, for a total of nine points on the possession: six on the touchdown, two on the conversion and one on the bonus kick.
The proposal is, for now, just to try the rule during the preseason. If it’s successful in the preseason, in the future it could be considered in the regular season. It’s not unusual for the league to try out new rules in the preseason; last year the league experimented with making extra points harder in preseason games.
It’s a strange rule, and according to Competition Committee co-chair Jeff Fisher, it’s the first time in many years that a significant change in scoring has been proposed. It seems awfully unlikely that the proposal will pass.
But if it does pass, we’ll have to stop saying teams are “going for two” and start saying teams are “going for three.”