The penultimate game of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season was exciting to the end, with the Detroit Lions defeating the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. Cris Collinsworth was in the building, calling the game for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Fortunately for the Lions and their fans, Collinsworth was not calling the team’s plays.
Because as the Rams were approaching the goal line for what was ultimately the game-winning touchdown, Collinsworth didn’t seem clear on the NFL’s overtime rules.
With the Lions facing a first down from inside of the Los Angeles 20 in the first possession of overtime, Collinsworth’s commentary focused on how Detroit could best set up a field goal.
“You start thinking about it, right?” Collinsworth said. “You start thinking about how much do you need before you’re gonna go line up and kick it? You start thinking about which side do you want your kicker to be able to kick it from? It’s coming so easily right now. I don’t think you’ll see ’em take big chances. I just think they’ll play under control, really get to third down and maybe kick it then.”
“You start thinking about it, right? You start thinking about how much do you need before you’re gonna go line up and kick it? You start thinking about which side do you want your kicker to be able to kick it from?”
Cris Collinsworth seemed to think it was sudden death OT. pic.twitter.com/2b78jnA3QQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2024
That’s a strategy that a team might think about in sudden death overtime. The Lions were inside the 20-yard line when Collinsworth made the comments, putting a field goal around 35 yards. That’s well within the range of any NFL kicker, particularly in a dome. So, if you’re in that part of the field in sudden death, there’s a definite logic in trying to kick a field goal on third down to allow for a second chance in the event of a bad snap.
There’s one issue, of course. When the Lions had the ball, it was not sudden death overtime.
During overtime, Collinsworth’s partner, play-by-play man Mike Tirico said that in order to end the game, the Lions needed a touchdown. He said this more than once, including immediately before Collinsworth’s aforementioned comments.
Mike Tirico said multiple times ahead of Cris Collinsworth’s comments how the Lions would win with a *touchdown* on the opening drive of overtime.
Example: https://t.co/6cghRBhllp pic.twitter.com/gg2Ga2DuXJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2024
Even *right before* Cris Collinsworth’s comments, Mike Tirico said, “A (Lions) touchdown wins the game, and the Rams will never touch it.” pic.twitter.com/emWH0AnCIw
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2024
The NFL’s overtime rules are as follows.
If the team that possesses the ball first scores a touchdown, the game is over. Otherwise, the team that kicks off to begin overtime is guaranteed a possession unless the opening possession lasts the full 10 minutes or the defense scores. If the game is tied at any point after the first possession, it then becomes sudden death.
The rules are different in the postseason. And to be fair, overtime was a true sudden death for a long time, including all of Collinsworth’s playing career. But the current rules have been in place for well over a decade.
In a different situation, Collinsworth’s comments — even in the first possession of overtime — might have made more sense. If the Lions were facing a third-and-long and were on the outer edge of their kicker’s distance, it might make sense to play conservative, pick up a few yards and make the field goal more assured. Getting to the ideal side of the field might also make more sense in bad weather.
But none of those situations were at play here. It was the exact opposite. Detroit had no issue moving the ball in overtime. The Lions faced only one third down in the extra period — and it was a third-and-one. There was no reason to think that things would get out of hand but if they somehow did, the situation was still largely in their favor.
[Photo Credit: NBC]
