The NFL has a major concern with one of the most important parts of the game.
There are two things that matters the most for the National Football League and that is money and TV ratings. However, there is one number that is down that has caused great concern for the NFL.
NFL scoring was down nearly a touchdown in 2023 compared to three years prior.
NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay had a lot to say about it:
“Statistically, what gives us concern a little bit is scoring,” Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said during a Thursday conference call. “Scoring this year at 43.5 is still above an historical marker, which has kind of been that 43 mark, according to Pro Football talk.com. But we were at 49 points per game during COVID [in 2020], and we went to 45 [in 2021], we went to 43.76 [in 2022], and now we’re down to 43.54.”
A lot of factors can be pointed to as to why this happened. A ton of quarterbacks got hurt last year, and a bunch of those that didn’t weren’t particularly good as we saw numerous getting benched as a result.
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Also, it should be noted that defenses are using more and more two-high safety schemes, which limit explosive plays.
There is not much the NFL can do about it since they already have a ton of rules in the books to protect quarterbacks and are geared toward helping the offense. Should the NFL try something else to help out offenses, heads would roll.
Rich McKay believes a proposed change to the kickoff will impact field position by 3-5 yards per drive, which will lead to more scoring.
The proposed rule change, which needs a three-quarters vote among ownership next week at the NFL Annual Meeting, leans heavily on the XFL model, which encourages returns while simultaneously lowering the risk of high-speed collisions that cause injuries.
The NFL Could Adopt UFL’s Current Kickoff Model For 2024 Season
With kickoffs almost nonexistent last year, the NFL may adopt the UFL’s current kickoff model for the 2024 season.
NFL owners could vote on a proposal in March to adopt the XFL’s kickoff model, which was discussed at length by the league’s competition committee last month.
The kickoff would still occur at the minus-35, but the kicking team’s other 10 players would line up at the opposing team’s 40. Those players cannot move until the ball is either caught or hits the ground in what is known as the landing zone.
Also Read: BREAKING: NFL Is Trying To Get Players To Agree On Significant Change To Regular Season Schedule
