Five Solutions to the NFL Overtime Crisis
It is always a great day when the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t win. However, oddly enough, the Steelers didn’t lose to the Detroit Lions either. It was a tie with the final score being 16-16.
The goal of overtime is to score a touchdown. The first team to do that wins. If other points are scored (field goal or safety), the other team has the chance to match those points or score a touchdown for the win.
I do not like this idea of a tie to end a football game. Yes, even if it’s the hated Steelers not winning. I want a winner to be determined and here are five ideas if there is no winner decided at the end of the overtime quarter resulting in a tie.
Note: In the playoffs, the game continues to a second overtime until a winner is determined.
Idea #1: Field Goal Competition
Have each team kick 10 50-yard field goals. The team with the most successful kicks wins.
Idea #2: Throwing Contest
Whichever team has a player that can throw the football the farthest wins.
Idea #3: 100-yard Dash
Whichever team has the fastest designated player run the 100-yard dash wins.
Idea #4: Good Hands Contest
Have a machine launch 10 passes and require a wide receiver to attempt to catch them. Most successful catches wins.
Idea #5: Jump Ball Contest
Have a member of each offense and defense line up against each other. Require the offensive player to go at least 25 yards and catch a pass while being guarded by the defender. Starting quarterback to throw pass. The winning team is the team that catches the farthest pass. Each team gets a chance to pass. If both teams defend the first cycle with an incompletion, then there is a second one.
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In each idea, the home team would get to choose if they want to go first in the contest or allow the other team to start
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There have been 282 ties in NFL history. Of course, it’s not a common occurrence. However, we did just see it happen last Sunday. One may laugh at the ideas in this article. What’s funny is the fact that a sporting event ends without a real winner. The NFL needs to figure out how to prevent this from ever happening again.
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