The NFL announced multiple rule changes on Tuesday, and more again on Wednesday, but one thing that wasn’t changed which generated a lot of discussion heading into the owners meetings was the extra point. The league made no changes to extra point rules at the annual league meetings this week, but the competition committee said that changes could come at the next league meeting in May.
NFL extra point changes could come in May
The NFL didn’t tweak the way extra points are handled just yet, but a vote on potential changes could come in May.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Competition committee co-chair Rich McKay said that there were no votes taken this week, but that the committee will work with coaches to “develop a lot of alternatives and be ready to put something forward” for a potential vote in May, as noted by Pro Football Talk. McKay said they had a “30-to-40-minute discussion” on the extra point and said there were a lot of ideas thrown around.
There were proposals pertaining to the rule this year, the most interesting being the one made by the Indianapolis Colts in which it was suggested that teams be given another extra point attempt after successfully converting a two-point conversion, to be kicked from 50 yards. The Colts eventually withdrew that proposal. It's unlikely we see anything that drastic on the table in May, but what exactly will be considered is up in the air.
The big topic of discussion, outside of potentially eliminating extra points altogether, is simply making the kick more difficult. Moving it back from the 2-yard line to make the kick not as automatic or moving it forward to make two-point conversions more appealing are both options. The league experimented with longer extra points in the preseason, making them 33 yards. Eight extra points were missed in 33 preseason games, but there was still a success rate of above 94 percent.
McKay also noted that one of the most-discussed aspects of a potential rule change centered on making the extra point a “football play.”
In other words, the main theme is that defenses would be allowed to obtain possession of the ball and score. Currently, if a defense gets an interception or otherwise acquires the ball, the play is whistled dead. McKay said that there is a “movement to want to change and change this year,” and that the hope is to have a recommended proposal ready for vote in May. At this point, it would be surprise if some kind of change to the extra point system didn’t occur this offseason.
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