Borderline Ridiculous

[John Grasso]

Joe Buck summed it up when he said that making the teams line up for the meaningless extra point
in the Saints-Vikings game was "borderline ridiculous".
What is the logic in requiring that to happen when in overtime games it is not required?

[Reaser]

Funny enough, before the bowl games started I told my friends that I guaranteed there would be at least one bowl game and/or NFL playoff game where my pet peeve of the media and photographers running on the field before the game is over would happen because it happens every year. And even though it happens all the time they somehow never figure it out and are confused. In college they just start running on the field even if there's time left and in the NFL the media don't know the rules so they don't know when the game is over - or they do the thing where there's time on the clock yet they're on the field. Get. Off. The. Field.

Four different friends messaged me as it was happening during the Saints-Vikings game to remind me that I always complain about it.

[Rupert Patrick]

I'm guessing at the next NFL Rules meeting they will adopt some sort of rule that if there is a touchdown as time expires that causes a team to win and the extra point is not necessary, they do not have to kick it. I knew they had to come back onto the field, but I wanted to see how long it would take. Wasn't there a game about 10 or 15 years ago where there was a winning touchdown as time expired and it was like 40 minutes after the players left the field that they finally got both eleven guys from each team out onto the field for the extra point? I remember there were non-linemen on the lines and it was the silliest thing I have ever seen.

[Reaser]

I'm guessing at the next NFL Rules meeting they will adopt some sort of rule that if there is a touchdown as time expires that causes a team to win and the extra point is not necessary, they do not have to kick it.

They already don't have to kick it. Can take a knee, obviously. Points (for/against) are a tiebreaker so they couldn't have that rule for the regular season. For the playoffs they could but I don't like different rules. It's not a hard thing, especially when it happens so frequently. Know the rules. Line up, end the game. (side note: also a gambling aspect to this.)

Of course there's an expected delay when you have a GW TD on the final play of the game but if it's just players on the field it takes 30 seconds to a minute if the officials are on top of it to get the players off the field. It's the media/photographers that generally cause the unnecessarily long delays -- or when fans storm the field in college. Or other times when the officials don't know what they're doing and let teams leave the field then figure it out later.

[conace21]

I think it's unlikely they will change the rule, because if a team is down 4 points and scores a last second touchdown to go up by 2, the defensive team could theoretically block the extra point and return it for two points to tie the game.

Buffalo- New England 1998. After two controversial calls, the Patriots won the game on an untimed down at the end of the game. The Bills were livid and went to the locker room. The Patriots were all on the field celebrating. There was no review process (this game actually helped lead to the review process being restored in 1999.) The ref- Walt Correy, I believe- cleared the field to prepare for the extra point. The TV announcer stated that the Bills were refusing to come out of the locker room. Several Bills later stated that they were never told that the PAT was taking place. The Patriots, facing no defense, flipped the ball to Adam Vinatieri and he jogged in for the two point conversion.

[John Grasso]

A simple rule change would be to give the winning team the option of going for the conversion or just ending the game
if there is more than a 2 point difference in the score.
But I still don't understand why the rules are different in overtime.

[Mark L. Ford]

I'm guessing at the next NFL Rules meeting they will adopt some sort of rule that if there is a touchdown as time expires that causes a team to win and the extra point is not necessary, they do not have to kick it.

They already don't have to kick it. Can take a knee, obviously. Points (for/against) are a tiebreaker so they couldn't have that rule for the regular season. For the playoffs they could but I don't like different rules. It's not a hard thing, especially when it happens so frequently. Know the rules. Line up, end the game. (side note: also a gambling aspect to this.)

Of course there's an expected delay when you have a GW TD on the final play of the game but if it's just players on the field it takes 30 seconds to a minute if the officials are on top of it to get the players off the field. It's the media/photographers that generally cause the unnecessarily long delays -- or when fans storm the field in college. Or other times when the officials don't know what they're doing and let teams leave the field then figure it out later.

And adding to that, although the kicking team does have the choice to take a knee, everyone DOES have to go through the lining up for the pointless point-making try, which is what the complaint is about. No walking off the field, no going to the locker room to celebrate or to mourn, no post-game interviews, and, since confetti would interfere with the kicking attempt, no confetti... until everyone takes their places.

The specific rule (11-3-1) says that "The team that scored the touchdown shall put the ball in play" except during overtime, and shall is mandatory.

[BD Sullivan]

In 1980, in the aftermath of the Ahmad Rashad game-winner that beat the Browns, the Vikings lined up for the XP, and made no attempt to block, resulting in the Browns easily (and pointlessly) blocking the kick.

[JKelly]

Two words explain the reason.......Point Spread.

[BD Sullivan]

Two words explain the reason.......Point Spread.

I thought that was one word.