We were getting used to it: a thrilling kickoff soars toward the receiving team, only for it to end in a touchback, resetting the play at the 25-yard line and cutting the action short.
But the new NFL season, kicking off tonight with the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, promises fewer touchbacks and more returns as the league adopts its new “dynamic kickoff” rules approved by NFL owners earlier this year.
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Here’s what to know.
Why the change?
Kickoff rules have been adjusted several times before, in response to the high risk of injury from high-speed collisions during the play, since players on the kicking team would have a sprinting head-start before the returning team caught the ball.
In 2011, the league moved kickoffs forward five yards to the 35-yard line, making it easier to kick the ball deep into the end zone and leading to more touchbacks with teams starting at the 20-yard line. In 2016, touchbacks placed teams at the 25, which further encouraged them. Then last season, returners could call for a fair catch anywhere, not just in the end zone, for a touchback, resulting in the lowest return rate in NFL history.
A dilemma emerged: injuries were reduced, but kickoffs became less exciting. So the league decided to execute a one-year trial of a radically different system that more closely resembles the XFL style.
What are the new rules?
Standard kicks will continue to start at the 35 but the rest of the set-up looks pretty different, involving an area called the “landing zone” between the receiving team’s end zone and 20-yard line. You might have seen this zone highlighted by a rectangle in preseason broadcasts.
Here’s what the kickoff setup now looks like:
- The 10 players on the kicking team will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line and cannot move until the ball hits a player or the ground in the landing zone or the end zone.
- The returning team can have a maximum of two returners anywhere in the landing zone, while at least nine players line up between their 30- and 35-yard lines (or the “setup zone”) with at least seven players touching the 35. Only the kickers and two returners can move until the ball hits a player or the ground in the landing zone or the end zone.
By bringing teams closer together at the start and restricting their movement, players have less space and speed for high-force collisions that have plagued the league in the past.
Here are the key changes to touchbacks and returns:
- If the ball reaches the end zone in the air, the receiving team can return it or opt for a touchback and possession at the 30.
- If the ball hits the landing zone and then goes into the end zone, the receiving team can return it or opt for a touchback and possession at the 20.
- Any kick that hits the landing zone (but doesn’t go into the end zone) must be returned.
- Any kick out of bounds or short of the landing zone places the ball at the 40.
This could incentivize teams to kick the ball just short of the end zone, forcing a return and creating more room for an exciting play. But kickers might still kick the ball deep to put it at the 30, even though it gives the receiving team a better starting position than in previous seasons.
What do people think so far?
The new rules have spurred debate among players and fans on whether or not they will effectively promote returns. Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, for one, is skeptical because he believes a 30-yard-line possession still isn’t worth the risk of giving up a long return.
After the Hall of Fame game last month, Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus said that teams would have to try different things and adapt to the new rules as the preseason and regular season unfolded.
Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce admitted to his brother Jason on their New Heights podcast that he was “so against” the new rules at first but changed his mind after seeing them play out.
“I’m so excited for it. I think it’s fun,” Kelce said. “It’s still electric. The guy with the ball is still hitting it as hard as he can.”
Meanwhile, fans on social media have expressed mixed reactions to the rules, some calling them “a joke” while others shared their excitement for a new look.
So far, the preseason did see more returns. According to the NFL, 70.5% of the kickoffs across 49 preseason games were returned, up from 54.8% during last year’s preseason. But the average returner reached the 28-yard line, only two yards short of a 30-yard touchback, and teams may continue to change their mind on how to approach the new format.
In addition to the kickoff rules, new regulations this season limit onside kicks to the fourth quarter and require teams to declare them ahead of time. The league also introduced a ban on hip-drop tackles, which has drawn criticism from numerous players on social media.
It may be too early to gauge what kind of impact the new NFL rules will have. But all eyes will be watching, as the country returns to rooting for its favorite sport.