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NFL owners approve OT rule change for playoffs

PALM BEACH, Fla. — NFL owners on Tuesday voted 29-3 to permanently approve a proposal that will guarantee each team in a post-season game a possession in overtime.

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The rule for regular-season games, which allows the team with the first possession to win if it scores a touchdown, will remain unchanged, ESPN reported.

League protocol dictates that a rule proposal must garner at least 24 votes to pass, CBS Sports reported.

The change comes after the Buffalo Bills never even touched the ball in the extra period of a down-to-the-wire playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs in January. The Chiefs ultimately defeated the Bills during the divisional playoff round with an opening-possession touchdown in overtime.

In turn, the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles jointly proposed a mandatory possession for both teams in all games, but competition committee chairman Rich McKay told ESPN that there was not enough support among owners to pass the rule unless it applied strictly to overtime play.

According to Sports Illustrated, the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins were the only three franchises to vote against the post-season overtime measure.

Per the new rule, the second possession of overtime would extend beyond the initial 15-minute period, if necessary, but should Team No. 2 tie the game, the outcome becomes a sudden-death situation.

Since the 2012 adoption of the current opening-possession touchdown rule, teams winning the coin toss have won 50% of the time, ESPN reported, citing league data.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.