Imagine you’re on a first date that’s gone flawlessly.
You feel an instant connection when you first lock eyes with your date. Dinner goes great with conversation flowing easily. An elderly couple observing buys you two dessert out of pure kindness. You take a stroll around a local park at sunset, laughing at newly minted inside jokes.
You finally wrap things up. You walk your date to his or her door. The chemistry is undeniable as you stare deeply into each other’s eyes as you say goodnight.
Then you lean in for the goodnight kiss. You close your eyes, bracing yourself to end the night off with fireworks shooting off in your mind.
Then, while your eyes are closed, the most unimaginable thing happens — your date sneezes in your face.
That’s how I felt after watching the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys battle to a 40-40 tie on Sunday Night Football this week.
Fans who watched the highly anticipated return to Dallas for Micah Parsons, who was dealt from Dallas to Green Bay in August, were left with a feeling of disappointment. What was becoming one of the best games of the 2025 season so far ended in an anti-climactic fashion, like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” kind of anti-climactic.
Crazed football fans, like yours truly, were left unsatisfied after what was set to be a great day of football.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hung on for a 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, a game which started at 8:30 a.m. for folks here in Minnesota. Then you had the noon slate which featured the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New York Giants earning an upset win over the Los Angeles Chargers and the Detroit Lions biting off the kneecaps of the Cleveland Browns (even though I’m not 100% sure the color brown has a knee cap to begin with, but I digress).
Then came the 3 p.m. slate. The Jacksonville Jaguars earned a statement win over the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off the Baltimore Ravens in convincing fashion, leaving NFL fans far and wide to question the legitimacy of the mighty Ravens.
Then came the SNF game. The game nearly every die hard NFL fan had circled since the Packers acquired Parson for two first round picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
No one batted an eye, or really complained, that this game went to overtime. In fact, it added to the drama.
But as Packers kicker Brandon McManus booted the game-tying field goal as time expired after a gross amount of clock mismanagement by Green Bay, fans were left with disappointment. It’s something one of my best friends described as “Unamerican,” and he’s right.
After 14 1/2 hours of action, Week 4’s Sunday slate ended with a tie.
The NFL needs to address this. We, the fans and the consumers of this product, refuse to see a game we love end in a tie. This is football, not futbol for crying out loud. The NHL, NBA and MLB don’t end in ties, why should the NFL?
I have three ideas on how to end this.
Keep playing until there’s a winner
In playoff action there obviously isn’t a tie. In the postseason the rules are fairly simple — you play until someone wins.
The NFL rules explain it like this: If the score is still tied at the end of an overtime period — or if the second team’s initial possession has not ended — the teams will play another overtime period. Play will continue regardless of how many overtime periods are needed for a winner to be determined. The captain who lost the first overtime coin toss will either choose to possess the ball or select which goal his team will defend, unless the team that won the coin toss deferred that choice. Each team will have an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime.
This is the least likely scenario. The NFL has player safety as a high priority, and rightfully so. But how many players are really happy with a tie?
Modified college approach
The NFL can adapt an overtime system similar to college football, but let’s put in a twist or two. Each team gets a possession starting at the opponent’s 35-yard line. No game clock, two timeouts each per overtime.
If the game reaches a second overtime teams must attempt a two-point conversion after a touchdown. If the game is tied after two overtimes each team gets a 1st and goal from the opponents 10-yard line until there’s a winner. Teams must go for two-point conversions after touchdowns.
Can you imagine Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen dueling in a seven overtime extravaganza with this format? Can you imagine what kind of intrigue and drama this could create? Of the three I’m pitching, this is the one I most want to see.
But what’s the third option? Glad you asked.
Kicker Roulette
The NHL has a shootout. MLB has a runner on second to start the 10th inning. In this NFL scenario, everything relies on the kickers.
Each team’s special team’s units attempt field goals starting from 40 yards out. If both teams are successful they move back in five yard increments until someone makes a field goal and someone misses.
Picture this: it’s Week 18 of the regular season. It’s the Vikings and the Packers vying for a Wild Card spot. And it all comes down to Kicker Roulette.
Will Reichard boots the kick of his life for the Vikings, draining a 60-yard field goal. The Packers get a rebuttal, but the Vikings come away with a block to end the game.
This is not for the faint of heart. But man, this could be so much fun. Shootouts in the NHL create some memorable moments (looking at you Pavel Datsyuk), and this format could fill that same void.
In the end there are so many ways that the NFL could tackle this issue (pun completely intended). But we as fans have had enough of these ties. Change the overtime format please.
Mitch Vosburg is a multi-time award-winning sports writer and photographer who proudly serves as sports editor for the Mankato Free Press. He can be reached at mvosburg@mankatofreepress.com. Follow him on Instagram (@themantheycallmitch) and on X/Twitter (@realmitchvburg).