NFL owners voted Tuesday at the owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, to approve a rule change regarding overtime in the playoffs, the league announced.
Under the new rules, if a playoff game goes into overtime, both teams will get the opportunity to possess the ball. If the teams are still tied after each have had possession, the game will go to sudden death, where the next score wins the game.
Additionally, if the kickoff team scores a safety on the receiving team's first possession, that team will be declared the winner.
The new rules apply only to the postseason and regular-season overtime rules remain unchanged.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, in the past 10 years, teams that won the OT coin flip in the postseason were 10-2. Seven of those wins were achieved on the opening possession.
The change was proposed by the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles, though their proposals weren't specific for the postseason but included the regular-season as well.
