NFL Rule Changes and how it effects the Chiefs
Tyler Brown
The NFL has been announcing rule changes at the annual NFL Owners meetings this week like they were going out of style. It is not hyperbole to say that many changes to the game as we know it are coming in 2024.
These changes range from actual on-the-field rules to roster construction, some of which will benefit the Chiefs this year. Some updates are not just about rule changes, but also some key scheduling and business-related items have been released. Let’s start with the biggest change and dive right in.
New Kickoff
Kickoffs as we know it are being tabled, for at least the 2024 season. This can get confusing, but if you watched the
XFL last season, you have seen how the NFL will conduct kickoffs as an experiment this year to see if it is a long-term solution. Here are the key highlights.
- As usual, the kicker will kick the ball from his team’s 40-yard line
- The other 10 players on the kicking team will line up at the opponent's 40-yard line
- The receiving team lines up five yards away, at their own 35
- No fair catches are allowed
- With a bouncing touchback, the receiving team will get the ball at the 20
- With a kick that lands in or through the end zone, the receiving team will get the ball at the 35
- With a kick that does not reach the 20, the receiving team will get the ball at the 40
These temporary changes are to promote player safety further while getting some action in a play that was a dying one. In 2023 21 percent of kickoffs were returned compared to back in 2003 when over 88 percent of them were.
There will be a ton of more returns this year because you have to return any kick between the 20 and the end zone. Any kick that travels to the end zone through the air can be a touchback, but the team will get the ball at the 35, which is a major advantage.
Can you imagine Patrick Mahomes starting every drive at the 35? If a team has a dangerous returner like Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman or dare I say, Kadarius Toney, kicking teams might elect to give the opposing offense the ball at the 35. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Ban on the hip-drop tackle
This is the most controversial rule change this week, as the competition committee voted to ban the hip-drop tackle while the NFLPA was not even in support of the change, even with it being a player safety issue. One of the key injuries of last season was when
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was tackled by Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, who the NFL is now using as an example of what this tackle looks like.
Defensive players are already at a massive disadvantage with the rules tipping into the favor of the offense most of the time, but many players have been especially outspoken about this. They are at a loss for exactly how to tackle ball carriers from behind.
Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu suggests that players are going to have to use the wrap-and-roll technique. The worst part about this rule change is that it gives more vicarious and subjective responsibility and judgments to the referees. There is no doubt that a penalty on this tackle will lead to controversy on Monday morning shows following a game on whether it should or should not have been called.
New IR rule
This was a minor takeaway from the meetings this week, but it should really help the Chiefs in this coming year. The new rule states that you can now place two players on IR before rosters go from 90 to 53, without putting those players out for the rest of the season.
Teams were always able to use the IR before the season, but that meant that they were done for the year. It happened to tight end Jody Fortson and cornerback Nazhee Johnson last year. With these new rules, there would have been a chance they could have come back for a Super Bowl run.
On the contrary, this also allows the Chiefs to put those players that they suspect will be back by week three or four to be placed on this list. This could have helped Toney last season when he suited up for opening night against the Detroit Lions, which felt a little rushed.
It will help the Chiefs specifically this season, as you never know how long it will take for Omenihu (ACL) or left guard Joe Thuney (Pec) to recover. They were both injured late in the playoff run and now they will not need to be rushed back or taking a spot on the 53 before they are ready to return.
Bye week has been moved to week nine
This is a minor change as the trade deadline was only pushed back a week, but it is a little better for both the winning and losing teams. For the winning team, it gives you another week to make deals and for the losing team, it gives them another week to realize that they are going nowhere fast.
It gives general manager Brett Veach another week to make his annual wide receiver trade. Some franchises were pushing for this to even get moved back to week 10, which makes some sense given that the season is 18 weeks now. We could see this pushed back even further in the future. Some in the league may be hesitant to push it back too far because they want the league to remain competitive throughout the entire season.
Other quick hitters
- Coaches can now use their challenge flag three times, so long as they get one of their previous two challenges correct. Before they had to get both of their previous two correct to receive a third challenge.
- The NFL has officially stolen Christmas from the NBA now that they announced there will be a Christmas doubleheader, even on a Wednesday. There will likely be an NFL game on five out of seven days that week. They also announced that if a team draws the Christmas Day game, they would be scheduled to play on a Saturday the week prior, which is the same as a Sunday to a Thursday. Let’s hope for the player's and Chiefs Kingdom’s sake, that Kansas City does not draw the Christmas Day game again.
- The week one game that is taking place in Brazil will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, much like the Chiefs Wildcard game that year. The Eagles will be playing in that game, but their opponent has not been released yet.
- It is unclear if Peacock is again exclusively broadcasting a Wild Card game as well, but it was announced that Amazon will now exclusively be streaming one in the 2024 playoffs.
- Hard Knocks is getting a facelift as it will now feature the entire division. With that comes the do away with the rule that only teams with losing records will be featured in the series because every division will have a team with a winning record. So, this will all but make it a guarantee that someday the Chiefs will be featured on the long-running HBO show. Chiefs fans will surely look forward to getting a peak behind those curtains.
