NFL owners approved several new rule changes at the annual league meeting on Tuesday, including an overhaul of overtime during the regular season, expanding replay assist to include a few new plays, and an adjustment to kickoffs.
The new regular-season overtime rule is the same one that's been used in the playoffs for the last couple of years, where both teams are guaranteed at least one possession, even if the team that has the ball first scores a touchdown.
If the score is still tied after that, sudden-death rules apply. Unlike playoff games, where there can obviously be no tie, regular-season contests can still end in a draw if no winner is decided after 10 minutes.
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As for replay assist, on-site officials can now reverse flags thrown for hits to defenseless players, fouls for facemasks, horse-collar tackles, tripping, and running into/roughing the kicker. However, replay officials will not be allowed to call a penalty for a play in which no flag was thrown.
As for kickoffs, the touchback spot from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line.
But while these changes (and a few others) were made, several others were tabled for further discussion, one of which was the Green Bay Packers' proposal to ban the "Tush Push" play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles.
NFL bylaws require at least 24 votes to approve a change, but there were reportedly only 16 owners on board with the ban at this time. Talks on this matter (and an official vote) are expected to resume when the owners meet in Minnesota in May.
Another issue that was tabled was one constructed by the Detroit Lions, who essentially stood up for both the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings with their proposed rule change to postseason seeding.
The Packers and Vikings would have had home playoff games had the Lions' rule proposal been in place last season
The Lions' playoff proposal is simple. If a wild-card team owns a better record than a division winner, it would earn a higher seed in the playoffs.
Had this rule been in place this past season, both Minnesota and Green Bay would have been seeded higher on the NFC side of the bracket.
The Vikings, of course, lost a winner-take-all battle with the Lions in Week 18 for the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the conference. As such, despite being 14-3, Kevin O'Connell & Co. were relegated to the No. 5 seed and were forced to go on the road to face the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Rams, who won the NFC West with a 10-7 mark.
The Packers finished third in the NFC North at 11-6, giving them a better record than the Rams and the third-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the NFC South at 10-7.
But since Green Bay had the third-best record among the wild-card teams, they ended up in the No. 7 slot, putting them on the road against the second-seeded Eagles.
Both the Vikings and Packers lost their playoff openers.
Had the Lions' proposal been in place, Green Bay would have still had to go on the road as the No. 5 seed to play the Washington Commanders, who would have been seeded fourth at 12-5. But you get the overall point, I think.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reports that many discussions on this matter were held, but no votes were cast. Like the Packers' "Tush Push" proposal, talks are expected to resume in May.