ARLINGTON, Texas (AP)—Imagine this scenario: Sunday’s Super Bowl goes to
overtime, and the team that wins the coin toss gets the ball, drives down the
field and makes a field goal.
Game over, right? Nope. Not anymore.
That’s the way things used to work. This season, though, the NFL changed the
postseason OT system to eliminate that sort of one-possession, one-kick
scenario. So the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers need to figure out
how to prepare and adjust, just in case their big game at Cowboys Stadium winds
up being the first game in the history of the league to get to overtime under
the new rules.
None of the previous 44 Super Bowls went to OT. But Steelers-Packers is
widely expected to be close; the Packers were favored by 2 points in the opening
line, and the margin at kickoff hasn’t been this low since 1982.
If these teams wind up tied at the end of the fourth quarter, this will be a
brand-new experience for everyone.
“There are a lot of questions still that haven’t been answered, because
nobody’s gotten into the situation yet,” Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce
Arians said. “I’d like the rule had we had it … all year. Then we’d know what
to do before we get to the Super Bowl.”
Not everyone who’ll be on the field Sunday was even aware of the changes.
Here’s what Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said when asked if he knew about
it:
“No. I haven’t really paid attention to it,” he said, laughing and shaking
his head. “It doesn’t even really matter to me.”
Other players acknowledged they weren’t sure what would happen. Pittsburgh
rookie receiver Antonio Brown pretended to know, until his bluff was called and
he was prodded to recite the new rule—and couldn’t.
Presumably, all of the coaches and NFL officials are familiar with it. But
there is certainly confusion elsewhere. Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana
said he was talking about the OT setup with friends during breakfast Friday,
“trying to figure out the whole thing.”
Here’s a little primer:
It used to be that the first team to score in the extra period won the game,
no matter what.
Now, if Team A wins the coin toss, gets the opening kickoff and scores a
touchdown, it wins the game. But if Team A kicks a field goal, Team B gets a
possession. If Team B also kicks a field goal, tying the score, the game
continues, and the next points scored by either team earns a victory; if Team B
scores a touchdown, it wins; and if Team B doesn’t score on its first
possession, Team A wins.
A safety at any point ends things.
So does everyone like it?
“I’m a traditionalist,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.
His teammate, safety Charlie Peprah was able to explain the rule from
memory. While he understands the idea of wanting to give each team “equal
opportunity” because the old way allowed for what he called “kind of a cheap
way to win,” he also is “a big fan of: ‘You’ve got to stop them.”’
The tweak was made in March 2010, two months after the New Orleans Saints
beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime in the NFC championship game. The
Saints won the OT coin toss and drove to Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard kick on the
opening possession.
As of now, the change is only for the playoffs, although NFL owners
eventually could add it to the regular season, too. Because none of this year’s
playoff games went to an extra period, no one knows exactly what would be in
store if the Steelers and Packers need OT to determine who wins the Vince
Lombardi Trophy.
“I hope it doesn’t come down in this game, but it’s going to be
different,” Pittsburgh’s Arians said. “It has made you sit down and think and
have another game plan, so to speak, for overtime.”
During “game management” meetings this week, both coaching staffs
discussed the factors that could come into play:
— Do you kick away the ball even if you win the coin toss?
— Do you make an extra effort to score a touchdown instead of a field goal,
including perhaps going for it on fourth-and-short to extend a drive?
— Do you change your defensive strategy?
“There are a lot of things you can talk about in advance,” Packers
offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said, “but you also have to be able to
adjust.”
Both kickers—Pittsburgh’s Shaun Suisham and Green Bay’s Mason Crosby
insist they’re not bothered a bit by the way their roles could be affected if
Sunday’s game winds up needing more than 60 minutes of action.
“If we get the ball first, I’ve still got to make that kick. But you hope
the offense scores a touchdown,” Crosby said. “Then it’ll be over. Right?”
Yes, Mason, that’s right.