Are NFL overtime rules different in playoffs? Explaining scenario for regular season and postseason

The outcome of most NFL games is determined over 60 minutes of game time, played in four quarters of 15 minutes each. Whichever team is ahead on the scoreboard when the clock expires is determined to be the winner of the game. If the score is evenly tied at the end of the fourth quarter, the game will then go into overtime, where the rules are then altered a bit.

As of the 2023 NFL season, the procedures of overtime have been modified with a different set of rules based on when the game is being played. The final outcome of a regular season game can be a tie, while in the playoffs, a winner must emerge.

How the two teams participate in overtime is also different in the postseason than it is in the regular season. Here are the differences.

NFL playoffs overtime rules

playoff overtime

Super Bowl 58 marked just the second time in NFL history that the big game went into overtime. It was also the first time it did so with the most recent rule changes.

Postseason games are no longer in an immediate sudden-death format when overtime begins like it used to be in the past, but instead give each team at least one chance to possess the ball. If they match each other's outcome in their first possesions, sudden-death takes back over after that. Here's how it works.

A coin toss is used to determine which team gets the football first in the same format used before the opening kickoff. If the team that possesses the ball first fails to score any points, the game immediately becomes sudden death as soon as the second team begins their possession. The next score by either team wins in this scenario.

If the first team scores any points, the second team is then tasked with scoring at least as many points on their first possession as the first team. A failure to do so will reward a victory to the first team that scored. If the second team scores more points on their first possession than the first team did, then the second team is the winner of the game.

If both teams score the same amount of points on their opening drive, the game then transforms into a sudden-death format from that point forward. The next team to score in any capacity will be the winner of the game. The first overtime period is 15 minutes long and follows the same format as the first quarter of the game.

If it is still tied after that, the game moves to the "second quarter" of overtime, using the same timing rules as the game would in regulation until a winner is determined. The game proceeds in this format until a team eventually scores.

NFL regular season overtime rules

On their first possession of overtime for a regular season NFL game, the team who gets the ball first automatically earns a victory only if they score a touchdown. If they don't, the second team gets an opportunity to possess the ball. If the outcome of their first drive matches the first drive for the opposing team, the game becomes sudden death from that point forward.

If the second team scores more points on their first drive than the first team did, they instantly win the game. Also for regular-season overtime, unlike games in the NFL playoffs, the game can eventually end in a tie. If a winner is undetermined after a standard 15-minute period, the two teams end the game with a tie.

Unlike the postseason, where play resumes with another 15-minute period until a winner is determined, just one overtime period can be played during the regular season. Playoff overtime has no actual limit on the total overtime periods, but for the regular season, it includes just 10 minutes of one overtime period to avoid a tie.