In 2025, the NFL adopted regular-season overtime rules that guarantee both teams a possession. The new rule has been used twice this season, most recently at AT&T Stadium for the Packers-Cowboys game on Sunday night.
But there’s a significant asterisk.
If the team that gets the ball first consumes the full 10 minutes of overtime to score a field goal or a touchdown, the game ends with that team winning. It doesn’t matter if the team that kicked off to start overtime doesn’t get an otherwise guaranteed possession.
More than a few PFT readers and PFT Live viewers have asked for clarification of the issue. We asked the league, just to be sure.
And the NFL has confirmed that, in theory, the team that receives possession of the opening kickoff in overtime can indeed use the full 10 minutes, score a touchdown or a field goal with no time on the clock, and exit with a win.
It’s not crazy to think that a team could do it. Last Monday night, the Lions had an 18-play, 10 minute and 48 second drive against the Ravens. If the team that gets the ball first in overtime deliberately milks the play clock when the game clock is otherwise running, the 10 minutes can evaporate, quickly.
Beyond the possibility of leaving the other team with no time, there’s an incentive to leave the other team with limited time to match or beat the first-drive score. It’s another factor to evaluate when deciding whether to choose to receive or to kick upon winning the toss in overtime.
In the postseason, the best decision usually will be to kick. In the regular-season, it’s far less clear.
And it’s another reason for the NFL to revert to a 15-minute overtime for the regular season.
