Mike Vaccaro The NFL overtime debate is raging — here’s what an eventful Week 2 taught us By Mike Vaccaro Published Sep. 21, 2026, 3:29 p.m. ET Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) hugs Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) after a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Every now and then, it’s good to keep an open mind. Smart TV shows have known this for a long time. Corporal Klinger started his life on “MAS*H” as a one-off joke, the classic soldier-bucking-for-a-Section-Eight trope. By season four Jamie Farr was a regular. “Happy Days” was supposed to be a Richie Cunningham vehicle. The Fonz changed that. So did Jess Pinkman on “Breaking Bad.”
It has been a slow progression for the NFL, but it feels like the league has gotten it just right with the way its overtime system has evolved through the years. Here is a quick timeline refresher:
— Until 1974, games tied at the end of regulation ended in ties. Now, there is nothing illegal about ties; soccer games end tied all the time. This is the 60th anniversary season of the famed 10-10 tie between Notre Dame and Michigan State. Hockey blissfully acknowledged ties for close to 100 years. But that doesn’t change a simple fact: American sports fans generally despise ties.
The Chiefs celebrate winning Super Bowl LVIII in overtime. Getty Images — From 1974 through 2010, overtime meant 15 minutes of sudden death: first score wins. This was better, but still had its issues, most notably: if you won the coin toss you had an enormous advantage, and the team that lost might never see the ball. If there’s one thing sports fans hate almost as much as ties, it’s blatant unfairness.
