In the Titans’ playoff win over the Patriots in January, they were able to run more than a minute off of the clock by taking back-to-back delay of game penalties before punting the ball away.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had employed a similar tactic in the past, but the Competition Committee has proposed a rule that would keep Belichick, Titans coach Mike Vrabel or any other team from doing so again in the future.
When Belichick used the tactic in an October win over the Jets, he called it “a loophole that will be closed and probably should be closed.” Now the NFL has a chance to close it once and for all.
The NFL announced that the committee has proposed amending the rule about when the game clock starts in order “to prevent teams from manipulating the game clock by committing multiple dead-ball fouls while the clock is running.” The rule currently calls for the clock to start after a penalty outside of the final two minutes of the first half and the final five minutes of the second half or if a specific rule states that the clock should not start.