How to Fix OT

When NFL games go to overtime, the first team to score wins. I hate this because of the emphasis it puts on the coin toss. Often, the first team to get the ball goes down and scores a field goal. By this late in the game, the defenses are usually out of gas, and the offense has a big advantage. Watching these games end on a FG is very anticlimactic.

I have a solution. Make it so that in order to win before the end of the 15 minute overtime period, a team has to win by 5 or more points.

If a team wins the toss and goes down and scores a TD... game over, and the winning margin is 6.

If the first team to score does it with a FG or safety, play keeps going. That team can now win with just a FG, and we get to see the other team have a chance on offense.

If a team is down by 3 and scores a TD, they would definitely go for a two-point conversion if there was much time left in OT. If they make it, then they win. If not, keep playing.

If by the end of OT one team has a lead of any amount, that team wins. If the teams are still even, then the games ends as a tie.

I think this approach would open all sorts of opportunity for strategic decisions that I think most fans would find entertaining to watch.