New NFL rule in place following events of Minnesota Vikings playoff game

The divisional round playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints has prompted the NFL to make some adjustments to their rulebook.

The Minneapolis Miracle was an amazing play. Watching Case Keenum connect with Stefon Diggs for a game-winning touchdown to advance to the NFC Championship game was an exciting moment for Minnesota Vikings fans everywhere.

Once the celebration died down and the focus returned to the football field, there was still work to be done…work that would have no impact on the final score of the game yet had to be done according to the rulebook.

Despite a large number of Saints players retiring to their locker room after the improbable comeback by Minnesota, both the Vikings and the Saints had to line up for an extra point which instead ended up as a kneel down.

A new rule in place as described on the official website of the NFL is eliminating the need for kicking an extra point in game-winning scores where it is either a touchdown in overtime or the clock has expired in regulation.

Here is how the rule reads:

"“By Competition Committee; Eliminates the requirement that a team who scores a winning touchdown at the end of regulation of a game to kick the extra point or go for two-point conversion.”"

While this will allow games to end on a more exciting note and eliminate the need for a heartbroken team to return to the field for what is a meaningless play, there is an instance that could make this rule bad.

If the score after the game-winning touchdown is only one point, a defensive team does have a tiny chance of creating a turnover and returning it for a 2-point touchdown. While this situation is HIGHLY improbable, that doesn’t mean that it is impossible.

The Competition Committee likely believes teams would be taking a knee in that situation, so the chances of a 2-point defensive touchdown on an extra point actually happening are so minuscule that they don’t actually need to be addressed.

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However, this is a great rule that will make the end of games won in overtime or with an expired game clock run more smoothly and avoid awkward situations like what happened at the end of the playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints.