For The Win
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2023 and has been updated.
It’s that time of year, folks. The Super Bowl is here. And, with both the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs being the two best teams in the league, there’s a strong chance this game will probably be close.
If it is a close game, that means we could get overtime. What that used to mean in the playoffs is that the team who scored first wins the game in the sudden death period.
Guess what? Not. Anymore.
Thanks to 2022’s ridiculous Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs game, the NFL changed the rules so that both teams will have a chance to touch the ball, should they get to overtime.
I know that might sound a bit confusing. If it is, don’t worry. Here’s a quick explainer on how it works.
Yes, both teams will be allowed to possess the ball during overtime no matter what happens. That’s the rule for only the postseason, not the regular season, which kept the sudden-death rule.
Years ago, a team could just kick a field goal and end the game on the first possession of overtime of a playoff game. But that isn’t the case anymore. Both teams will, at the very least, have an opportunity to score.
Great question. According to the NFL’s rules and operations site, if both teams score on their first possession of overtime and the game is still tied, then the game continues.
However, it immediately reverts back to the original sudden-death format. The next team to score wins the game.
If that happens then the team that scored the touchdown wins. Whichever side has the most points after both have possessed the ball at least one time is the winner.
So let’s say the Chiefs score a field goal on their first possession of overtime, but the Eagles score a touchdown on theirs. The Eagles would be the winners of the game.
In the extremely unlikely event this continues to happen, the teams will keep playing overtime periods until someone wins.
There has to be a Super Bowl winner, right? They can’t just share the trophy.
Those are all the basics there. If you’re looking for more specifics or you’re still a bit confused, here are the official rules from the NFL’s rule book:
