A refresher on the NFL rule, bylaw and postseason changes ahead of 2020 season
The Chiefs provided fans with multiple stirring moments en route to winning the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years.
To name a few: the 28-point second quarter against the Texans, quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ rambling touchdown run against the Titans, and of course, “2-3 Jet Chip Wasp” in Super Bowl LIV.
But the magic began in the regular-season finale.
With the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and a postseason bye in play, the Chiefs needed to beat the Chargers and have the Patriots lose at home to the four-win Dolphins. It seemed a long shot, but Miami scored a late touchdown after the Chiefs took a commanding lead. With Kevin Harlan calling both games, the Chiefs secured the bye.
If a similar scenario plays out this season, it won’t mean nearly the same. Seven teams from each conference will make the postseason field this year and only the No. 1 seed in the AFC and NFC will get a bye. The last team to make the Super Bowl without having a bye was the 2012 Baltimore Ravens.
Starting this season, the Wild Card games will have the No. 2 seed playing host to the No. 7 seed, while the No. 3 team will be home to the No. 6 seed and No. 4 seed will be host to the No. 5 team.
NFL Wild Card Weekend will include three games on Saturday, Jan. 9 and another three games Sunday, Jan. 10, the league previously announced.
The NFL also made a change to the bylaws that will increase from two to three the number of players that can be designated to return from injured reserve.
Three rule changes will be in place for 2020:
- Protection for a defenseless player was expanded to include kickoff and punt returners who are in possession of the ball, but haven’t had time to protect themselves from being hit by an opponent.
- The expansion of automatic replay reviews that include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, as well as any successful or unsuccessful try attempt, is now a permanent rule.
- Teams are now prevented from manipulating the game clock by committing multiple dead-ball fouls while the clock is running. This was first done by the Patriots in a “Monday Night Football” game against the Jets. In the playoffs, the Titans did the same thing to New England and ran off time near the end of Tennessee’s victory.
