Momentum exists for NFL overtime rule change, but 24 votes 'not easy to get'

There is «a lot of momentum» for changing NFL overtime rules, competition committee chairman Rich McKay said Friday, but it is unclear whether enough owners will agree on a specific proposal when they gather next week for their annual meetings in Palm Beach, Florida.

At the moment, two proposals are under consideration. The Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles have proposed making it mandatory for each team to have an overtime possession before moving to sudden death. The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, proposed a tweak that would require mandatory possession for each team unless the team that has the first possession scores a touchdown and converts a successful two-point attempt.

The competition committee did not endorse either proposal, but McKay said that was because the clubs covered the nature of the discussion well. In a conference call, however, McKay warned reporters about the difficulty of getting the necessary 24 votes from owners to change a rule.

«I think my history on this rule tells me that 24 votes is not easy to get,» McKay said. «But I do think the statistics absolutely warrant an examination of whether overtime rules need to be further modified.»

The existing rule allows a team to win on the first possession of overtime if it scores a touchdown, an outcome that dominated discussion in January after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Chiefs won the coin toss and chose to receive. They scored a touchdown on their first drive, ultimately leaving Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his offense on the sideline and unable to affect the outcome of the game.

Since the current requirement for an opening possession touchdown was instituted for the 2012