NFL overtime rules have changed more in the past few years than in the previous half-century, and many fans are still catching up. Since 2025, both teams get a chance to possess the ball in regular-season overtime, even if the first team scores a touchdown, bringing the regular season closer to the playoff format. The overtime period is still 10 minutes in the regular season, ties are still possible, and the coin toss still matters, but not in the way it used to.
This guide explains exactly how overtime works in the regular season and the playoffs, how the rules evolved, the strategy debate over whether to receive or kick, and how the NFL compares with college football.
Table of Contents
NFL overtime rules at a glance
If a game is tied at the end of regulation, here is what happens in the regular season:
- A single overtime period of 10 minutes is played
- A coin toss decides which team gets the first choice
- Both teams get at least one possession, unless the defense scores on the first possession
- After both teams have had the ball, the next score of any kind wins
- If the score is still tied after 10 minutes, the game ends in a tie
In the playoffs, the same possession rule applies, but overtime periods are 15 minutes long, and teams keep playing additional periods until there is a winner.
How overtime works in the regular season
Overtime begins with a coin toss. The visiting team’s captain calls it. The winner chooses whether to receive, kick or pick which end of the field to defend, and the other team gets the remaining choice.
The team that receives gets the first possession. Under the rules adopted in 2025, the other team is then guaranteed a possession, whatever happens on the first drive, unless the defense scores on that first possession, for example with a safety or an interception returned for a touchdown. In that case, the game ends immediately.
If the first team kicks a field goal, the second team can win with a touchdown, extend the game with a field goal of its own, or lose if it fails to score. If both teams score the same or neither scores, overtime continues as sudden death: the next team to score in any way wins.
The overtime period in the regular season lasts 10 minutes, a change the league made in 2017 from the previous 15 minutes to reduce the physical toll on players.
Ties in the NFL regular season
Unlike most American sports, the NFL still allows regular-season games to end in a tie. If neither team is ahead when the 10-minute overtime expires, the game goes into the standings as a tie.
Ties are rare but not unheard of. In the standings, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss when calculating winning percentage. That can matter a great deal in tight playoff races, where a single tie can separate teams at the end of the season.
How overtime works in the playoffs
Playoff games cannot end in a tie, so the rules are different. Overtime periods last 15 minutes, as in a regular quarter, and play continues through as many periods as needed until one team wins.
Both teams are guaranteed a possession in playoff overtime, the same as the regular season, unless the defense scores first. This rule has been in place for the playoffs since the 2022 season. Timeouts and the two-minute warning are handled much like the halves of a regular game.
Why the NFL changed overtime
For decades, overtime was pure sudden death: the first team to score won. That meant a team could win on its first drive with a field goal without the other side ever touching the ball, and critics argued the coin toss decided too many games.
The league adjusted the rules step by step. In 2010, it changed playoff overtime so that a first-possession field goal no longer ended the game, and in 2012 it applied the same change to the regular season. A first-possession touchdown still won the game outright.
The turning point came in the January 2022 playoffs, when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in a thrilling divisional-round game by scoring a touchdown on the first possession of overtime. Bills quarterback Josh Allen never got the ball back. The outcry led the NFL to guarantee both teams a possession in playoff overtime from the 2022 season. In 2025, team owners voted to extend that guarantee to the regular season as well.
Receive or kick? The coin toss strategy debate
The new rules changed the coin toss from a clear advantage into a real strategic choice. Under old sudden-death rules, receiving was almost always best. Now, the team that goes second has an advantage: it knows exactly what it needs.
If the first team kicks a field goal, the second team knows it needs at least a field goal to continue, and can be more aggressive, including going for it on fourth down. If the first team scores a touchdown, the second team knows it must score a touchdown too, and may decide to go for a two-point conversion to win outright.
The team that receives first has its own advantage: if both teams match scores, it gets the next possession in sudden death. Analysts still disagree about which choice is best, and it may depend on a team’s offense, defense, kicker and the weather.
The debate became famous after Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024, the first Super Bowl played under the new playoff overtime rules. The San Francisco 49ers won the toss and chose to receive. They kicked a field goal, and the Chiefs then drove for a touchdown to win the championship. Many fans and analysts questioned whether San Francisco should have chosen to kick instead.
Replay and timeouts in overtime
In overtime, all replay reviews are initiated by the replay official rather than by coaches’ challenges, similar to the final two minutes of each half. That means coaches cannot throw their red flag in overtime.
Each team has a limited number of timeouts in overtime. Clock management becomes especially important in the regular season, when the 10-minute limit can leave the second team racing to score before time runs out.
Famous overtime games
Some of the most memorable games in NFL history went beyond regulation. The longest game ever played was a playoff game on Christmas Day in 1971, when the Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs in double overtime after more than 82 minutes of play.
On Christmas Eve in 1977, the Oakland Raiders beat the Baltimore Colts in double overtime in a playoff game remembered for the “Ghost to the Post” pass that set up a late tying field goal in regulation.
Super Bowl LI in February 2017 was the first Super Bowl to go to overtime. The New England Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons and won with a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, under the rules of the time. Games like that one, and the 2022 Chiefs-Bills playoff classic, fed the debate that eventually changed the overtime rules.
How coaches approach overtime strategy
The new overtime rules have made coaching decisions more complicated. A team that goes second knows exactly what it needs, which makes fourth-down decisions easier. If it trails by a field goal, it can go for it on fourth down deep in its own territory, knowing a punt would likely lose the game.
If the first team scores a touchdown, the second team faces a big choice after its own touchdown: kick the extra point and keep playing, or go for a two-point conversion to win on the spot. Some analysts argue the two-point try is often the better bet, especially for teams with strong offenses.
In the regular season, the 10-minute overtime period adds another layer. A long, slow first drive can leave little time for the second team, and coaches have to balance scoring with running the clock. In the playoffs, where there is no risk of a tie, teams can be more patient.
Overtime and player safety
Player safety has shaped the rules too. When the NFL cut regular-season overtime from 15 minutes to 10 in 2017, it pointed to concerns about the number of plays players could face in a long game, particularly on short weeks such as Thursday night games.
By guaranteeing both teams a possession, the newer rules can extend some games. The league has balanced that against fairness, keeping the overtime period short in the regular season and allowing ties rather than forcing a result every time.
Does overtime count in fantasy football?
Yes. Statistics from overtime count in most fantasy football leagues, just like stats from regulation. A touchdown, field goal or big run in overtime can swing a fantasy matchup, which is why fantasy players sometimes find themselves rooting for a game to go beyond regulation.
The only difference is that ties can affect fantasy results for defenses and kickers in some scoring systems. Check your league’s rules if you are unsure.
What fans think of the new rules
Opinions are mixed. Many fans welcomed the guaranteed possession, arguing that a coin toss should never decide a game and that both offenses deserve a chance. Others miss the simplicity and drama of pure sudden death, when a single drive could end the game.
Some fans and commentators would like the NFL to go further, for example by adopting a college-style format or ending regular-season ties altogether. For now, the league has settled on a compromise that keeps overtime close to normal football while giving both teams a fair shot.
How the NFL compares with college football
College football uses a completely different system. There is no game clock in college overtime. Instead, each team gets a possession starting from the opponent’s 25-yard line, and the teams alternate until one is ahead after both have had the ball.
From the second overtime, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after a touchdown. From the third overtime, teams alternate two-point attempts instead of full drives. The format was designed to shorten marathon games and reduce injury risk.
College overtime produces more dramatic finishes, but NFL fans often prefer the professional game’s closer resemblance to regular play.
Other sports compared
Every sport handles ties differently. The NBA plays five-minute overtime periods until someone wins. The NHL uses a three-on-three overtime in the regular season, followed by a shootout, while playoff games continue with full sudden-death periods. Major League Baseball plays extra innings, and in the regular season each extra inning starts with a runner on second base, a rule that does not apply in the postseason. Our explainer on the MLB playoff format covers how baseball’s postseason works.
In soccer, league games can end in a draw, while knockout matches go to extra time and penalties. Our guide to how VAR works explains how English football uses video review in tight games.
Watching the NFL from the UK
The NFL has a large and growing audience in Britain. The league has played regular-season games in London since 2007, with games held at Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it continues to schedule games in the UK and other countries each season.
For British fans used to football, the most surprising part of NFL overtime rules is that a game can end tied after all that extra effort. Regular-season ties are rare, but they are part of the sport.
Overtime scoring scenarios at a glance
Here is how common situations play out under the current rules:
- First team scores a touchdown: the second team gets a possession and must score a touchdown to continue, or can try a two-point conversion to win
- First team kicks a field goal: the second team can win with a touchdown, tie with a field goal and continue, or lose if it does not score
- First team does not score: the second team gets the ball, and any score wins once both teams have possessed
- Defense scores on the first possession: the game ends immediately
- Scores are level after both possessions: sudden death, next score wins
- Time expires in the regular season with scores level: the game ends in a tie
Overtime in the history books
Regular-season overtime is younger than many fans realize. Before 1974, tied regular-season games simply ended as ties. The NFL introduced a sudden-death overtime period for the regular season that year, and the very first regular-season overtime game, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, still ended in a tie.
Playoff games had used sudden death for longer, since a champion had to be decided. The 1958 championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants, won in overtime by the Colts, is often called the greatest game ever played and helped make pro football a television sensation.
When a tie decides a playoff race
Because ties count as half a win and half a loss, a single tie can break what would otherwise be a dead heat in the standings. A team with a record of 10-6-1 finishes ahead of a team at 10-7, for example.
When teams do finish with identical records, the NFL uses a detailed list of tiebreakers to decide playoff places. The first steps usually look at head-to-head results between the tied teams, then records within the division or conference, then results against common opponents. In a tight race, fans often end up studying these tiebreakers as closely as the games themselves, and a regular-season tie in October can suddenly matter a great deal in January.
NFL overtime rules: common questions
How long is NFL overtime?
Ten minutes in the regular season. In the playoffs, overtime periods are 15 minutes, and play continues until there is a winner.
Do both teams get the ball in NFL overtime?
Yes. Since 2025, both teams are guaranteed at least one possession in the regular season, as in the playoffs, unless the defense scores on the first possession.
Can an NFL game end in a tie?
Yes, in the regular season, if the score is still level after the 10-minute overtime period. Playoff games cannot end in a tie.
Who calls the coin toss in overtime?
The visiting team’s captain calls the toss.
What happens if both teams score on their first possessions?
The game continues as sudden death. The next score of any kind wins.
The next time a game goes to overtime, watch the coin toss decision, since it is one of the most debated calls in modern football. For more sports explainers, see our sports section and the official NFL Football Operations site.
