How the NFL's new rule changes will impact the 2024 season

The NFL’s Competition Committee approved these changes, reflecting an increased focus on preventing injuries and ensuring the game sees fair play across all of the league's teams.

Fans will want to keep an eye on how these changes impact the game as the season progresses. There's a good chance we'll see coaching strategies change along with in-game dynamics.

In this article, we'll look at some of the most impactful rule changes and how they might affect the season.

 

The new kickoff rule

If you ask people in the know what's the biggest change we can expect this year, they'll undoubtedly start talking about the adjustments to the kickoff rules.

The new rule is called the dynamic kickoff, and if you've ever watched the XFL, you'll have some idea of what to expect.

The dynamic kickoff adds a new landing zone and changes where the kicker and kickoff team start. In this scenario, the kicker will be positioned on the 35-yard line, with the kickoff team on the opposing team's 40-yard line.

There will be what's called a set-up zone with at least nine blockers from the return team lined up between the 30-yard and 35-yard line.

Out of those nine players or more, at least seven must be touching the 35-yard line. A team can place as many as two returners inside the 20-yard line.

There's more to it than that, but there's no need to get bogged down in the details. What's important to note is that the NFL has changed this rule in an effort to cut down the number of high-speed collisions that often happen during kick-off.

These collisions have often resulted in concussions and other serious player injuries, making them some of the NFL's most dangerous plays.  

How much this will impact a team's performance is a big unknown. There's no doubt fans will have their eyes on how teams adjust to this new form of playing.

A big question many have is whether the Kansas City Chiefs can maintain their dominance for another year and become the first team in NFL history to achieve the coveted three-peat by winning three Super Bowls in a row.

With online sports betting becoming increasingly popular, more fans are researching the odds of the Chiefs coming out on top again.

As of today, the Kansas City Chiefs is the favorite team to win the Super Bowl according to Oddschecker, a website that aggregates betting odds from various bookmakers.

There's a lot of excitement surrounding the team's likelihood of repeating another Championship run. It'll be interesting to see how they work the new kickoff rule into their overall strategy.

 

Ban on the hip-drop tackle

The other major rule that goes into effect this year is the NFL's ban on the hip-drop tackle. This rule change came about due to concerns over player safety.

Football fans everywhere are familiar with the drop tackle technique, where a defender wraps up the ball carrier and drops their body weight onto the player's legs.

While the technique is effective, the league has found it can cause serious injuries, including broken ankles and ligament damage.

As part of the NFL's commitment to making the game safe, they've decided to ban the technique to reduce the risk of players getting injured.

As one can probably imagine, this new ban is going to force players to make big adjustments to how they tackle. Coaches are going to have to work on safer, more controlled techniques during training.

If a player uses the hip-drop tackle, their team will be given a 15-yard penalty or fined. Some analysts think the ban will increase the number of unnecessary roughness penalties until players fully adjust to the new rule.

At the same time, as defenses become more cautious, offenses might find that they have more opportunities.