The NFL Has a New Kickoff Rule
The NFL adopted the XFL kickoff rule and next season it’ll look like this:
Here’s what the new NFL kickoff will look like this season: pic.twitter.com/vtR5bqGZLK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2024
Another rule passed for safety while trying to add entertainment value. Here’s the thing though… isn’t the NFL just fixing a problem they created when they moved the kickoff to the 35? If they wanted more returns, they could’ve moved the kickoff back to the 30 and continued with the same play while instituting safety measures. Instead, now kickers will be asked to do more.
If the kick hits before the landing zone the ball will be placed at the 40:
But what changes from kickers just knocking it out of the endzone still? One of the rule addendums states that the ball going out of the endzone in the air will be placed at the 35. Isn’t that what kickers are doing already? Not to mention, the dumbest part of this rule change is that you have to now declare an onside kick. Where is the strategy? It’s already a 3% success rate. Now we’re telling the team when we’re doing it? If that’s the case, why wouldn’t the league adopt the Eagles’ 4th and 20 proposal to get the ball back? The NFL is turning into a gimmick with some of these rule changes. Make the Onside Kick Great Again:
Pat McAfee recovering his own onside kick remains legendary 🐐 @PatMcAfeeShow @Colts pic.twitter.com/1qcdRRWxEB
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 6, 2020