New NFL Kickoff Rule Is a Weird One for Fans

NFL fans got their first look at one of the biggest rule changes in league history Thursday night, and the early reviews weren't exactly scintillating. The annual Hall of Fame exhibition game in Canton, Ohio, showed how NFL kickoffs have drastically changed, with the league hoping to make them safer and more interesting to watch:

• Watch it: See video of the very first new kickoff here or here in the game between the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans.
• The changes: All the players (except the kicker) line up on the side of the field where the ball will be caught, meaning tacklers no longer have a potentially dangerous head of steam when collisions take place, per the Washington Post. As the Athletic puts it: The changes "feel like the sort of thing that'll keep being explained all the way through the Super Bowl."

• Results: In the first two runbacks, the runners were tackled at the 26 yard line—a mere yard further than where the play would have begun under the old touchback rule, per the AP. The furthest return of all eight kickoffs in the game was out to the 31, notes ESPN. But there's also this: Last season, roughly three out of four kickoffs were not returned, which the league felt was boring for fans. In Thursday's game, only one of the eight kickoffs was not returned.
• Reaction: Sports Illustrated rounds up reaction on social media, and a lot of fans sound whiny about the change. "What happened to the game I love," wonders a tweet from Barstool Sports. The Bears' Tyler Scott, who actually returned a kickoff Thursday, had this to say: "Everyone is kind of stacked," he says of the lined-up players. "I think for the most part, it'll work out pretty good. Just think we'll have a lot of explosive plays."
• For the record: The Bears won the game, 21-17. It ended early—in the third quarter—because of weather.

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