NFL owners adopt postseason OT rule for regular season

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Even though the NFL’s new rule for postseason overtime has never come into play, it’s being expanded for the regular season, too.

NFL owners passed the playoff overtime rule for the regular schedule Wednesday. All games that go into overtime now cannot end on a field goal on the first possession.

The opposing team must get one series, and if it also kicks a field goal, the extra period continues. Of course, if it fails to score it loses, and if it gets a touchdown, it wins.

The rule has not been a factor since it was instituted in 2010, with only two playoff games going to OT. One ended on the first play, Tim Tebow’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas for a Denver victory over Pittsburgh. The other had several possessions for each team before the Giants beat the 49ers in the NFC title game this season.

The vote on adopting the new overtime rule was 30-2.

Owners also have given the replay official permission to review turnovers just as he reviews all scoring plays.

Other rules changes: a team will lose a down for illegally kicking a loose ball; too many men on the field becomes a dead ball foul; and a player receiving a crackback block is now considered a defenseless player, and the hit will result in a 15-yard penalty.

Not passed were proposals to have the booth official handle video reviews rather than the referee, and outlawing the horse-collar tackle made on quarterbacks in the pocket.

Given the NFL’s concern with player safety, the failure to extend the horse-collar rule seemed surprising. But competition committee chairman Rich McKay said the ownership “didn’t think this can impact player safety.”

“The rule was developed for the open field tackle when a defender has the chance to do something else (in making the tackle),” he said. “He’s also able to use the runner’s momentum against him. We didn’t think that applied to the pocket, didn’t see the injury risk.”

Several bylaw changes were tabled until the league meetings in May, including expanding preseason rosters to 90, designating one player suffering a major injury before Week 2 of the season as eligible to return from injured reserve and moving the trading deadline back two weeks to after Week 8.

McKay expects them to pass at the next meetings in Atlanta.

“There were good ideas and suggestions, no resistance,” he said. “We’ll work on the language.”

Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league’s strong stance against non-contract bonuses such as the Saints’ bounty program that got coach Sean Payton suspended for one year and cost New Orleans a $500,000 fine and two second-round draft choices. Goodell said the league will not allow any cash payments between players, whether the clubs are involved or not.

“It’s not permissible and we are going to take that out of the game,” he said.

Goodell expects to speak with players’ union head DeMaurice Smith before the end of the week and hopes to have the NFLPA’s recommendations on punishment for players involved in the bounties by then or soon after. The league will be scheduling additional hearings in the investigation.

Also:

c The NFL will not be awarding the 2016 Super Bowl, its 50th, to any city this year. Goodell said he expects many bidders for the game.

“It’s an important game for us,” he said. “We’re looking at plans to make it spectacular.”

There’s been speculation the league was hoping a suitable stadium would be in place in Los Angeles by 2016. The first Super Bowl was played in the LA Coliseum.

c The league is prepared to make an agreement with the union on HGH testing if a population study is the only thing standing in the way.

c The 18-game schedule has not been discussed, and the NFL wants to go through a full cycle of the offseason schedule that came with the new collective bargaining agreement before reviewing the subject.

c No consensus has been reached in the medical community on the value of having an independent neurologist on the sidelines during games. Discussions likely will continue.