ScottF

I have always thought Sudden Death was stupid. In what other situation, sports or otherwise, does only one participant get a shot?

As for game length, the longer the game, the better chance that the better team will win. This eliminates losing on a bad call or fluke play. Plus the cash-poor NFL (joking) can sell more commercial time.

gumbeau

Both teams have a shot at scoring in the NFL during sudden death. Lots of overtime games have ended on a defensive touchdown.

This rule change is more about bitter fans that don' think losing to a field goal is really losing.

Just remove field goals from overtime rules.

Problem solved. The winner will have scored a touchdown and we don't have silly kindergarten turn taking.

21Hilliard

Case in point: The Arizona - Green Bay Wildcard Game from this season. The Cards defense stepped up and made the play when they needed it. Defensive touchdown. In Overtime. Game over.

Tobias-Reiper

What? Only one participant gets a shot at winning?
You mean the team that gets to kick has to kick it to the other team and then they can't field a defense or something?

The "better" team should've been able to win it in regulation. If they can't win it in regulation, are they really the better team?

And you are telling me an OT game cannot be lost on a bad call or fluke play?

..and speaking of TV and commercial times, games going longer than the time slotted for them will wreck havoc with network programming and advertising money, not make it better.

'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

lynwood

Hockey has the sudden death but the puck goes back and forth. I'd rather them play the full overtime like basketball.

lynwood

I like the sudden death, unless our defense sucks and we lose the toss :P

hagan714

probably the greatest football game ever played

January 2nd, 1982

Chargers win 41-38

Flashback: Winslow, Chargers outlast Miami


The thing Kellen Winslow recalls most about the game many consider the greatest in NFL history is the crowd.

"I remember how quiet it was in the Orange Bowl when we went ahead 24-0," the Chargers' Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end said recently. "And then I remember how loud it got when the Dolphins came back and scored on that hook-and-ladder play just before the half.
"It was so noisy at halftime, under those rickety stands, we couldn't hear our coaches in the locker room."


It was a day filled with as much frenzy as flying footballs. Just when one team appeared to have this 1981 AFC Divisional Playoff Game under control, the other came roaring back on an afternoon when the quarterbacks were hotter than the sweltering 85-degree temperatures.



The Chargers had Dan Fouts throwing to Winslow and Charlie Joiner, a future Canton triumvirate that was the heart of a Don Coryell offense so deep and gifted, it ranked among the most explosive in league history.
The problem, of course, was the San Diego defense, which had holes big enough to house all of Don Shula's glittering trophies. So even when the Chargers raced off to that 24-0 first-period lead, they had to know it wasn't safe.


When Shula replaced struggling quarterback David Woodley with old, reliable Don Strock a few minutes later, momentum swung like some huge pendulum. Strock drove the Dolphins to 10 quick points, then, with time running out in the half, Shula reached back to an old playground somewhere for a gimmick play that couldn't have worked any better.



It's called the hook-and-ladder, and Duriel Harris' 15-yard reception and ensuing lateral to trailing Tony Nathan produced a 40-yard touchdown that closed the gap to 24-17 and set the stage for a theatrical second half.
If the game took on the appearance of some Shakespearean drama, then Winslow was its Olivier.


Shula later called him "Superman," and who could argue? Cape or no cape, all Winslow did was catch 13 passes for 166 yards, then rise eerily out of the crowd to block Uwe von Schamann's 43-yard attempt at a game-winning field goal with the teams tied at 38 in the final seconds of regulation.


"I told 'Big Hands' [Gary Johnson] and Louie [Kelcher] to give me some penetration, and I'll get it," Winslow said. "They did, and I think I got one finger on it."


By then, the heat, humidity, and emotion had drained everyone, and the thought of playing an overtime period was almost too much to comprehend.
"I remember Kim Bokamper fighting through Don Macek and Ed White to get to Fouts, only I was there to block," Winslow said. "After the play, Kim looked up from the ground and said, 'Damn, Kellen. What are you doing back here?' We were both so tired, we just started to laugh."


The Dolphins weren't laughing a few minutes later, in overtime, when von Schamann had another field-goal attempt-this time a 34-yarder-blocked by defensive end Leroy Jones. And the disbelieving crowd of 73,735 began to wonder if this surreal game would ever end.


It finally did after Fouts found Joiner for 39 yards down the middle to set up Rolf Benirschke, who eight minutes earlier had missed a 27-yard field goal, for a 29-yard attempt. The kick seemed to hang in the air forever before sailing through the uprights for a 41-38 victory.


"It was like all the adrenalin rushed out of me and all the fatigue and soreness rushed in," said Winslow, who needed two teammates to help transport his cramped 240 pounds to the locker room.


Later, as a lone reporter stood by his cubicle, Winslow's large, tired body was draped over a long bench. He looked up, tried to smile, and then uttered the perfect tag line to this unforgettable game.


"I feel," he said, "as if I've been to the mountaintop."


History Release » Flashback: Winslow, Chargers outlast Miami

for a good break down of the game

Records and individual performances

The game featured many new records by players of both teams. By the time it was over Miami and San Diego had set playoff records for the most points scored by both teams (79), most total yards by both teams (1,036), and most passing yards by both teams (836)[1].




Strock had the best single game performance of his career, completing 29 of 43 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. Harris caught six passes for 106 yards. Nathan rushed for 48 yards, caught nine passes for 114 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Hardycaught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.


Fouts finished the game completing 33 of 53 passing attempts for a franchise record 433 yards and three touchdowns. His attempts, completions, and passing yards were all NFL postseason records[4]. Joiner caught seven passes for 108 yards. Muncie rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown. In addition to his 56-yard punt return touchdown, Chandler caught six passes for 106 yards. Brooks recorded 143 all-purpose yards (19 rushing, 31 receiving, 85 kickoff return, eight punt return) and a pair of touchdown catches[5].


But perhaps the best performance of the game was put in by Kellen Winslow. In addition to his blocked field goal, he recorded an NFL playoff record 13 receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown, despite suffering numerous injuries. During the contest, he was treated for a pinched nerve in his shoulder, dehydration, severe cramps, and a gash in his lower lip that required three stitches. A picture of an exhausted Winslow being helped off the field by two teammates after the game is an enduring image in NFL lore and has been replayed constantly ever since

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

hagan714

hagan714

ScottF

Havoc? really?