The Houston Texans still would have come away with victories against the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys under the NFL’s new overtime rule proposals.
The Kansas City Chiefs have submitted a proposal to change the league’s current overtime rules. The rule amendment provides:
(1) allow both teams the opportunity to possess the ball at least one time in overtime, even if the first team to possess the ball in overtime scores a touchdown; (2) eliminate overtime for preseason; and (3) eliminate overtime coin toss so that winner of initial coin toss to begin game may choose whether to kick or receive, or which goal to defend.
Even under the proposed rules, the Texans would have still bested the Colts in Week 4. The game came down to the last play of overtime as kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn sinking a 37-yard field goal on Houston’s second overtime possession.
The next week versus Dallas at NRG Stadium, Fairbairn hit a 36-yard field to conclude Houston’s first possession of the game, which was after the Cowboys got a chance to possess the ball first. Either way it’s sliced, the Texans would have gone 2-0 in overtime in 2018, new rules or old rules.
As far as the amendment that the team that wins the opening coin toss also wins the overtime coin toss, the Texans won the opening coin toss for both games. It was the opposition that won the overtime coin toss in both instances.
Kansas City’s rule proposals will go before the competition committee at the NFL’s spring owners meetings from March 24-27 in Phoenix.
