Sometimes, a full hour just isn’t enough to settle things on the gridiron. That was the case on Thursday night when the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks battled in a low-scoring, defensive slugfest. Seattle clawed back with an 11-point fourth quarter, forcing the game into overtime. With the extra session coming up, here is a breakdown of how the NFL handles overtime in the 2026 season.
The rules are pretty straightforward and have been in place since the 2022 postseason. Overtime is set to last 10 minutes. Each team gets two timeouts during the extra period, and all video reviews are handled by the officiating booth. The key part of the rules is that both teams get a chance to possess the ball, with the only exception being if the kicking team scores a safety on the receiving team’s first drive. The coin toss decides who gets the ball first.
After each team has possessed the ball, the team with the higher score wins. If the score is still tied after one possession each, the next team to score wins the game. If the clock hits zero and the score is still level, the game ends in a tie. Ties are incredibly rare, but they do happen. The 2025 season saw just one tie, a 40-40 draw between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. The 2026 season has already seen its own tie, with the Washington Commanders and New York Giants drawing in Week 5 after a clock-management nightmare in the final seconds. Whether you are rooting for the Broncos, the Seahawks, or just love a good dramatic finish, understanding these rules makes watching overtime that much better.
