What are the NFL’s overtime rules? Explaining the nuances for regular and postseason play

The score is tied, the final seconds of the fourth quarter are ticking away, and both teams have used up their timeouts. What happens now?

Aside from getting to watch football for free, both teams still have a chance to win. However, the rules for this extra game differ slightly depending on whether the game takes place during the 18-week regular season or in the postseason.

But how will the extension develop from a regulatory perspective? The Sporty gives you a complete breakdown.

What OT rules apply during the regular season?

If a regular season game ends in a tie, the captains of both teams and a referee conduct a coin toss. The visiting team captain calls heads or tails and the winner of the coin toss indicates whether his team wants to have possession of the ball first or which side of the field it wants to defend. Given the way overtime is structured in the NFL, it is usually advantageous to go on offense first.

There will be a break of no more than three minutes, and then a 10-minute period will begin during which each team must have an opportunity to go on offense. The only exception to this is if the first team to receive the ball scores a touchdown on its first OT possession. In this case, the game ends immediately and the other team does not get a chance to go on offense. If the first team to go on offense does not score a touchdown (instead kicks a field goal, punts, or loses the ball), the opposing team would have a chance to gain possession. If the score is still tied after both teams have possession of the ball, OT will continue in sudden death until one team scores by any means (touchdown, field goal, or safety) and the game ends.

There is another case where the game ends on the first possession and no touchdown is scored. If the team kicking off overtime scores a safety on the receiving team’s first possession, the team that kicked off is the winner.

Jets wide receiver Xavier Gipson finishes a game against the Bills by scoring a touchdown on a punt return in overtime. (Photo: Robert Deutsch / USA Today)

Each team will be granted two timeouts during this overtime period. If a team finishes regulation time with unused timeouts, they will be canceled at the end of the fourth quarter. Coaches will not have the opportunity to immediately replay the game during overtime. All reviews will be initiated by the replay referee.

If the score is still tied at the end of the 10-minute overtime period, the game will be considered a tie in both teams’ records. The 2023 season was the first since 2017 without any tied games.

What OT rules apply during the postseason?

The rules for overtime in the postseason are not the same as the rules for the regular season, as games cannot end in a tie during this phase of the season. Overtime in the postseason lasts 15 minutes and requires that both teams have at least one chance to gain possession of the ball. An exception to this occurs if the team that kicked the ball away to start the overtime scores a safety on the opponent’s first possession. In this case, the game ends immediately with a win for the team that kicked the ball.

After each team has played on offense, the side with the most points wins. If the score is still tied, the next team to score in any way wins. If the score is still tied at the end of the 15 minutes – or if the second team has not completed its first offensive move by that time – the teams play another overtime period. Play continues until a winner is determined.

If more than one hour of overtime is necessary, a break of two minutes must be taken between overtime hours.

At the beginning of the third over time The captain who lost the first coin toss in overtime may choose whether to play on offense or select the end zone his team will defend, unless the team that won the coin toss has deferred that decision.

If the game is still tied at the end of the fourth overtime period, a coin is flipped again and the teams continue playing until one team has scored more points than its opponent.

Each team is granted three timeouts during a half (two overtime periods), as opposed to two timeouts during overtime in the regular season.

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(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)