Official Overtime Rules for NFL

NFL games rarely head into overtime, so much so that even some of the players have been confused about the official NFL overtime rules. As opposed to college football where teams are both guaranteed an opportunity to score, the NFL uses a sudden-death overtime system that changes between the regular season and the postseason.

General Overtime Operation

Possession is determined at the beginning of overtime by a coin flip, similar in fashion to the coin flip at the beginning of the game. The visiting team gets the chance to make the call. If a touchdown is scored in overtime, the extra point is not attempted.

Timeouts and Challenges in Overtime

In overtime, teams receive additional timeouts and cannot carry over any additional timeouts if they had remaining unused ones from regulation. Challenges are used in the same fashion as they are in normal game play.

Overtime in the Regular Season

Games in the preseason and the regular season operate under the same sudden-death system as postseason games. However, the overtime is limited to one extra quarter of play. If no team scores by the end of that quarter, the game ends as a tie.

Since there is a maximum of only one quarter of overtime, the overtime period operates under the timing rules of the fourth quarter. Each team receives two timeouts to use during the period.

Overtime in the Postseason

Playoff games cannot end in ties, since teams need to advance and be eliminated. Therefore NFL postseason games that go into overtime last until a team scores, however long that may be. Since there is a possibility of extended play beyond one quarter, the overtime period(s) are operated under the normal timing rules of a game.

Each team receives three timeouts per half. Additionally, the teams change sides of the field after each quarter as they would during regulation. Although two overtime periods are known as a half, there is no "halftime" or extended break if the game should extend beyond two overtime periods. There is a two-minute break between all overtime periods, regardless of how many take place.

Differences From College Football Overtime

The NFL sudden-death overtime system is completely different from the college overtime system. In college football, teams start with a short field and are each given a possession guaranteed. The teams essentially get a chance to match each other score for score, and scoring is made easier due to the shortened field. This raises game scores and often leads to three, four or even five overtime periods.