NFL commissioner Roger Goodell talked to the league’s network on Monday about a number of different topics, several of which included possible rule changes.
One of the issues discussed was the idea of eliminating extra points after touchdowns, which Goodell says are just about “automatic.”
“There’s one proposal in particular that I’ve heard about,” Goodell told NFL Network. “It’s automatic that you get seven points when you score a touchdown, but you could potentially go for an eighth point, either by running or passing the ball, so if you fail, you go back to six.”
This is one change that makes sense because there’s really no need for an extra point. It’s just another play where players could suffer an injury (New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski broke his forearm during an extra-point play in the 2012 season).
If there wasn’t enough support to take extra points out of the game, increasing the distance of extra-point attempts and making them more difficult to convert is another option worth exploring.
Another topic discussed was a change to the playoff format, which, at the moment, includes six teams from each conference. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the more prominent voices in the sport to come out in favor of expanding the playoffs, but Goodell said Monday that any tweaks to the current system “probably wouldn’t happen before (2015).”
