NFL to make key changes in overtime rules and roughing the passer penalties

For years, football fans have complained about the National Football League’s reluctance to review its rules and policies, especially those that can have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

From pass-interference to roughing the passer, several rules must be reviewed and changed for the sake of the flow of the game, and it seems like the league has finally listened to the fan’s prayers.

According to multiple reports by NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk, the league is currently evaluating three major rule changes: Submitting the roughing the passer penalty to review, andreverting to sudden-death overtime.

NFL Could Make ‘Roughing The Passer’ Penalties Subject To Review

It’s not a secret that referees have messed up crucial roughing the passer calls over the past couple of years. This way, coaches could actually challenge those calls to extend a drive when needed:

“The replay process would entail scanning on a frame-by-frame basis any and all available angles for any and all potential instances of roughing based on broad, literal application of the rule. (…) And for every interception, which makes the replay process automatic, part of the second look will entail checking to see whether any potential roughing the passer happened,” the report claimed.

NFL Is Considering Reverting The Sudden-Death Overtime Rule

Most people remember when the New Orleans Saints advanced to the Super Bowl after a game-winning field goal in the first series of overtime. That’s why the league decided to change the overtime rule to sudden death only in the event of a touchdown. Now, however, the league could shift it back to true sudden death to avoid extending games too much:

“So why would the league choose not to make overtime procedures more fair but to turn the clock back to the days when the toss of a coin had a gigantic impact on who won and who lost? Given that the league already has reduced overtime from 15 minutes to 10 minutes in the regular season in order to prevent a team from, for example, playing 75 minutes on Sunday and another 75 minutes four days later, the move to re-embrace true sudden-death overtime couldbe part of laying the foundation for more short-week games,” the report said.

Then again, none of this will do any good unless the league starts holding the referees accountable for the blatant mistakes they make week in and week out. Then and only then, the game will be fair.