🏈 Should NFL Games Be Allowed To End In A Tie?

No one loves ties in football, but in some cases, it is the proper outcome. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: After Sunday’s Steelers-Lions game resulted in a 16-16 tie, talks surrounding the NFL’s overtime rules began to pick up steam ... we take a look at the biggest surprises of the NFL season so far ... and we are treated to a must-see touchdown celebration. Ties are never well-received in most American sports and Sunday wasn’t going to be any different. After a bizarre afternoon of action between the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers lurched to a 16-16 conclusion at Heinz Field, the unkind descriptions came rolling in. In various media reports, the first tie of the current National Football League season was called “crazy” and, according to the [Detroit Free Press]( “unsightly.” It was, variously, “ugly and disappointing” and a “comedy of errors,” capped by a Steelers fumble with eight seconds remaining in the contest. The players seemed as bemused as anyone, with Steelers running back Najee Harris admitting he didn’t even know such a result was possible, leaving him somewhat stunned when the teams trotted off to the locker room following an overtime period that was just as empty of scoring as the final 11:31 of regulation. “Didn't even know you could tie in the NFL,” Harris told reporters. “I was sitting on the bench saying, 'I've got another quarter to go.' But someone came to me and said that (was) it. I've never had a tie in my life before.” [STORY IMAGE 1] Ties aren’t especially uncommon in some sports. In soccer, for example, they happen all the time. In Major League Soccer, Nashville SC ended 18 of its 34 games this season in a tie. Boxing matches end in a draw relatively frequently, usually accompanied by some recrimination over the judging. Even in the NFL, it happens more than you’d think and often enough that it’s extraordinary that there are players - there’s always at least one – who follow in the time-honored tradition of Donovan McNabb and don’t know the rule. No one especially likes to see a tie in football, but let’s put forward what may be an unpopular theory here – in some cases, it is the right, proper and worthiest outcome. Neither the Lions nor the Steelers did enough to deserve to stick one in the win column on Sunday. “Two muddling teams, fit to be tied,” [wrote the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review](. They both battled hard, but they fumbled and floundered and couldn’t advance the ball much. There were missed field goals and bountiful turnovers and all kinds of other mistakes that would normally lead to a loss, except for when the other team is doing the same. [STORY IMAGE 2] For the Lions it was the obvious end of one streak – they’d lost their previous 12 games - but the continuation of another in that they’ve still, naturally, gone 13 games without actually winning one. In some ways, this is the perfect summary of why they call NFL ties unsatisfying, in that they don’t really solve anything. “It’s (the) Twilight Zone,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I don’t know what this is, really.” But maybe that’s kind of the point. If a team can’t do enough to earn a win within 70 minutes of football and a system (sudden death after opening possession) directly designed to force a victor, do they deserve another chance to claim one of those precious wins? There have been five ties in the NFL since the 2017 decision to shorten overtime from 15 minutes to 10, with the Steelers/Lions stalemate the first since Week 3 of last season, when the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles could not be separated. There are, of course, alternatives that would mean there would not be ties ever again. The NFL could reduce the likelihood by extending the OT period back to 15 minutes. Or use its playoff model in the regular season. Or the college formula could be followed, whereby dueling offensive possessions from the 25-yard line take place. [STORY IMAGE 3]( If the last scenario sounds appealing, it can be. Texas A&M’s 74-72 victory over LSU in seven overtimes in 2018 was a classic. It’s not always like that. For those in favor of the NFL switching in that direction, I’d point out a game between Penn State and Illinois a few weeks ago. The final score, Illinois 20, Penn State 18 (9OT). Nine overtimes? How thrilling! Sounds incredible, right? Yeah, except that it wasn’t. It was dire, exhausting and overwhelmingly boring. No disrespect here to Illinois, who fought hard against a team that was ranked No. 7, but it was a ridiculous way for a game to end. No one could score and, by the time of the merciful end, hardly anyone could stay awake. And that’s how it sometimes goes in those instances where sports put rules in place to force a definitive result, no matter how long it goes on for, no matter how evenly matched the participants. [STORY IMAGE 4] When Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson duked it out in golf’s initial version of The Match in 2018, they were tied after 18 holes, still tied after a playoff and then, with darkness descending, finished it off with three holes of a chipping competition from the practice area. What a way to decide the outcome of $9 million – when most agreed a handshake and honors even an hour earlier would have been fine, and no one would have felt shortchanged. Sometimes, what a game gives us is enough. Sunday’s game was exciting in its own way, head-shaking in others, and truthfully, didn’t need to go on any longer than it did, despite how odd it always feels for things to end while still tied. “It’s nuts,” Lions RB Godwin Igwebuike said, and it was, but trying to force a win when neither team had earned one would have been even more ridiculous. [STORY IMAGE 5]( Here’s what others have said ... Godwin Igwebuike, Detroit Lions: “I'm back there like, 'Yo, how many overtimes can we do?' And they're like 'three' ... I hear 'two, one' and we were like, 'Yo, whatever's going on, we're about to just put our all into it.'” Mike Asti, Steelers Now: “Every overtime game leads to the same question – should the NFL change their overtime rules? This is especially going to be a debate after a tie.” Donovan McNabb, Former NFL QB: “I’ve never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book. It’s part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie.” Now comfort looks good sponsored content Having super comfortable material is only one reason why [Public Rec's]( All Day Every Day Pant has developed a cult following. The big difference-maker is letting you -- the one actually wearing the pants -- choose your waist and inseam sizes. No guesswork. No compromise. When the fit is just right, why wouldn't you want to wear this all the time? More comfortable than jeans and more stylish than sweats, these pants offer the best of both worlds when it comes to look and feel. [Find your fit](. [IN OTHER WORDS] - After an embarrassing loss last week, Dallas played the most complete game of the Mike McCarthy era, [Matt Mosley writes](. - With 10 weeks of the NFL season in the books, [FOX Sports NFL Analyst Geoff Schwartz looks at the ten biggest surprises so far](. - [FOX Sports NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks examines the offensive explosion by the Patriots, Cowboys and Chiefs]( plus the return of Carolina’s former MVP. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Scoring your first NFL touchdown is a special moment that should be remembered forever … just ask Los Angeles Chargers running back Larry Roundtree. After scoring his first touchdown in Sunday’s Chargers-Vikings game, Roundtree broke out some must-see dance moves filled with pure joy and excitement. We dare you to watch this video from start to finish and not crack a smile. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Illinois at Marquette (FS1, 7 p.m. ET) Trent Frazier and the No. 11-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini go up against the Marquette Golden Eagles. WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) How will WWE Champion Big E respond to Kevin Owens’ attack? Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers (ESPN, 8:15 p.m. ET) Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams take on Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo 250+ Passing Yards and 2+ Passing TDs each: +500 Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers in an NFC West clash. Stafford has been outstanding in his first season in Los Angeles, leading the NFL in passing yards (2,711) heading into Week 10 and ranking second in touchdown passes (23). On the other side, Garoppolo has had an up-and-down campaign, but has put up big numbers against elite teams. He threw for 257 yards and two scores against Green Bay in Week 3, and then totaled 326 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona last weekend. FOX Bet is offering a wager for both Stafford and Garoppolo to throw for 250-plus yards and two-or-more touchdowns at +500. Go ahead and lock this bet in. [WHAT THEY SAID] “I'm sure I've been in a tie before as a player, but for some reason I can't remember that, if it was.” — Dan Campbell [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900