What are your initial reactions to the new kickoff rule?
The NFL just conducted its first preseason game of the 2024 season, including the debut of the new kickoff. Under the new rule, the kicking team kicks from the 35, but the coverage players line up on the receiving team’s 40. The ball must land inside the 20, and the coverage players can’t move until the ball is fielded.
You can take a look at how the first-ever NFL kickoff under these rules played out here. On the whole, it was certainly different to watch, but the result was largely the same. One is a sample size that isn’t even worth discussing, though. Fortunately, there was more than one kickoff during the game.
There were eight kick returns in all during the 21-17 game, which the Chicago Bears won. Only two returns were longer than 24 yards, both by the Bears’ John Jackson, with a long of 31. Still, watching the game, you can see the potential for bigger plays.
Of course, that’s what the NFL wants with the new kick return. They also want more kick returns generally, which is an about-face from recent edicts. Over the past decade or so, they have imposed rules that discourage returns.
At least for one night, the NFL saw a game in which teams returned every kick. But teams are far more likely to return kicks during the preseason because they’re analyzing their roster. You can’t figure out who your special teamers are if they’re just running down to watch a fair catch.
The Steelers play their first preseason game a week from today against yesterday’s losers, the Houston Texans. They will benefit not only from having seen the play in action but also from playing a team that has done it. They will be one of the first teams to witness how a team responds to what they experienced.
But the question is, will people like it? That’s ultimately what will make or break this rule, which is under a trial basis. The new kickoff rule goes away in 2025 if the league decides it. And if they somehow feel that it hurts the product, they will banish it like the pass interference challenge rule.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a first-round playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they exit early or miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are in training camp and the preseason and the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
