NFL to review 1 controversial rule during offseason

Nov 10, 2022; Munich, Germany; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reacts during an NFL Flag Football community event at the FC Bayern Campus. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL will explore yet another major rule change to help offenses after the 2023 season concludes.

NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said on Wednesday that the league is planning to have discussions about the rule that awards the defense possession and a touchback if an offensive player fumbles the ball through the end zone. Vincent indicated that the NFL competition committee will debate whether the offense should retain possession in those situations.

NFL executive Troy Vincent says at the league meeting, among other things, that the league will take a look at plays where the player fumbles through the end zone(!).

Is it too punitive? “Do we need to give them a chance again?”

It will be studied this offseason.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 13, 2023

The touchback rule typically comes into play when a ball carrier is reaching for the goal line to score and loses possession. Opponents of the current rule argue that the offense retains possession in all other situations where a player fumbles the ball out of bounds, so the end zone should be no different. If a player fumbled at the 2-yard line and the ball went out of bounds at the 1, the offense would retain possession at the spot of the fumble.

There is also the argument that the defense is awarded possession on a fumble through the end zone even though they did not recover the ball. The outcome for the defense is the same as if a defensive player recovered a fumble in the end zone.

Those who are in favor of keeping the rule the way it is believe there should be an added responsibility to protect the ball near the goal line.

If the rule were changed, the question then becomes what happens with the ball. Would the offense retain possession at the spot of the fumble? Would the ball be placed at the 1? One possibility that has been floated is penalizing the offense by bringing the ball back to the 20 and/or having a loss of down.

The fumble-touchback rule is not the only controversial rule that the NFL plans to examine this offseason. Should a change go into effect, it would have a major impact on the outcome of future games.

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