The NFL is all for experimenting in the 2022 Pro Bowl, an exhibition meant to gauge interest in potential rule changes for the league going forward. The league will experiment with this year’s iteration of the game, abolishing the kickoff and using an alternative method for the winner of the coin toss.
Here’s what the NFL has in store to replace the kickoff. The head coach or captain of the visiting team will call “heads” or “tails,” and the winner of the “toss” will choose one of two options:
- Spot: Place the ball on the field for the first play of the first quarter, including the designation of direction OR
- Choose: Decide whether to start on offense or defense from the other team’s designated spot or direction.
Privilege “A” will be exercised before privilege “B,” so the selection to play offense or defense will be made after the starting field of play is chosen. To start the second half, the loser of the start of the game “coin toss” has the option to chose one of the two privileges — while the other team gets the other one.
The Pro Bowl will also keep the onside kick alternative for the third straight year. The scoring team may elect to give the ball to its opposition at their own 25-yard line, or it may elect to take the ball at its own 25 for a fourth-and-15 play. If it is successful, it will maintain possession as normal, and if not, the result is a turnover.
The Pro Bowl will also feature a 35/25 second play clock instead of the normal 40/25 second clock. After an incomplete pass, the game clock will start on the official’s signal, except inside the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half. In a normal NFL game, the game clock does not start after an incomplete pass.
The changes make the Pro Bowl interesting, even if the league has yet to make any of the proposals live in an official game.
