NFL Overtime Rules 2026: Does Each Team Get the Ball?

NFL Overtime Rules 2026: Does Each Team Get the Ball?

The NFL overtime rules for 2026 carry over a principle the league adopted in 2025: both teams are meant to get a chance to possess the ball, even if the team that gets it first scores a touchdown. That change aligned regular-season overtime with the format the postseason had already used since 2022 (NFL Football Operations). Two things can still end a game before the second team ever touches the ball: a defensive score on the opening possession, or, in the regular season only, a clock that runs out first (NBC Sports).

This explainer covers NFL games only. Other levels of football run their own rulebooks, so check the applicable governing body directly before applying anything here outside the NFL.

"Opportunity to possess" is the phrase doing all the work, and it's not the same as a guaranteed second drive. It only holds up if the opening possession doesn't decide the game on its own. Under the previous regular-season rule, a touchdown on the opening drive simply won the game outright, with no response drive for the other side (Pro Football Network). The 2025 proposal closed that gap by matching the regular season to the format already used in the playoffs (NFL.com; AP).

How NFL overtime possession rules work after the opening drive

So does each team get the ball in NFL overtime? Usually, yes. A defensive score wipes out that opportunity at either level, and in the regular season, an expired clock can do the same (NBC Sports).

Picture two teams in overtime. The opening team gets the ball first. What happens next depends entirely on how that drive ends.

Opening team's drive What happens next Touchdown The other team still gets a possession to answer. A touchdown of its own ties the game and triggers next-score-wins; a field goal leaves the opening team ahead once both sides have had the ball, so it wins; no score at all ends the game for the opening team (Pro Football Network) Field goal The other team wins outright with a touchdown, ties the game with a field goal of its own and sends it to next-score-wins, or loses if it fails to score (Pro Football Network) No score The other team wins with any score on its possession (Pro Football Network) Defensive touchdown or safety The game ends immediately. No second possession happens (NBC Sports)

That last row matters more than it looks. A defensive score, whether it's an interception or fumble return for a touchdown, or a tackle or penalty in the end zone for a safety, ends the game on the spot (NBC Sports).

The "next score wins" rule applies in two spots, not just one. If the opening team fails to score at all, the next score wins immediately, before the second team even needs to finish that possession. If both teams have had their turn and the score is still level, the next score by any method also wins (NBC Sports; Pro Football Network).

NFL regular season overtime rules: one 10-minute period, ties still possible

Regular-season overtime runs a single 10-minute period after a three-minute intermission, with each team getting two timeouts for that stretch (Pro Football Network; NBC Sports).

The clock, not the possession rule, is the real limiter here. If the first possession uses all 10 minutes, the game ends before the other team gets the ball (NBC Sports).

That's also why ties haven't disappeared from the regular season. The Packers and Cowboys finished tied 40-40 in Week 4 of the 2025 season after regular-season overtime expired with the score still level (NBC Sports).

As for who gets first crack at the ball: the captain who loses the overtime coin toss chooses to possess or to pick which goal to defend, unless the winning captain defers that choice (Pro Football Network). NBC Sports reported that coaches have been roughly split on whether to kick or receive after winning that toss (NBC Sports).

NFL playoff overtime rules: no ties, and it can run long

Postseason overtime isn't a single 15-minute period. It opens with a 15-minute quarter, and unlike the regular season, there's no 10-minute cap limiting how long the game can run (NBC Sports).

The rule requires the team with the ball to carry it into a second overtime quarter, with no new kickoff, if the score is tied or the second team's opening possession hasn't concluded when the first quarter ends. Instead of a fresh kickoff, there's a two-minute intermission between the two quarters (NBC Sports; Pro Football Network).

Still tied after that second quarter? Play resets like a new half: a fresh kickoff, and the team that lost the original coin toss chooses to kick, receive, or defend a goal (NBC Sports). If there's still no winner after a fourth overtime period, the league holds an entirely new coin toss and play continues until someone wins (Pro Football Network).

Timeouts scale up to match regulation play in the postseason: three per half, compared with two total during a regular-season overtime period (NBC Sports).

NFL overtime rules 2026: regular season vs. playoffs at a glance

Category Regular season Playoffs Period length One 10-minute period 15-minute quarters, continuing across multiple periods Ties allowed Yes, if the score is level when the clock hits zero No, play continues until a winner is set Second-team possession Guaranteed opportunity, unless the opening drive uses the full 10 minutes Guaranteed opportunity, continuing across periods until a winner is determined, unless a defensive score ends it first Timeouts Two per team Three per team, per half Coach challenges Not allowed; replay official reviews only Not allowed; replay official reviews only

(NBC Sports; Pro Football Network)

None of this arrived at once. Sudden-death overtime for the regular season dates back to 1974. The league barred opening-drive field goals from deciding playoff games in 2010, extended that to the regular season in 2012, trimmed regular-season overtime from 15 to 10 minutes in 2017, and added the full possession guarantee to the postseason in 2022 before extending it to the regular season in 2025 (NBC Sports).

For any NFL game, check two things first: whether it's regular season or postseason, and how the opening possession ended, offensive score, defensive score, or no score at all. That tells you whether the next possession is guaranteed outright, guaranteed but clock-limited, or already decided.

This possession framework applies to NFL regular-season and postseason games as adopted in 2025 (NFL Football Operations). The one exception worth remembering above the rest: a defensive touchdown or safety on the opening possession ends the game immediately, at either level, regardless of the clock. College, high school, and other levels of football use their own overtime formats, so check that organization's rulebook before assuming any of this carries over.