Get ready to kiss your sister more frequently.
The prospect of a 10-minute overtime period, coupled with the two-possession overtime rule, will result in more ties in the regular season.
Overtimes already are taking longer, given that the team that kicks off to start the period gets a possession if the first team to have the ball scores three points. That rule, which should have been adopted for the postseason only already is causing teams to play deeper into the fifth period during regular season games.
When the overtime rule was changed seven years ago, NFL coaches apparently wanted that rule to apply for all games because they wanted to avoid having different rules for the regular season and for the postseason.
So, of course, the solution to longer overtime periods will be to adopt a different rule for the regular season and the postseason by reducing the length of the extra session to 10 minutes. Then again, the rules for the postseason already were different, given that in the playoffs the 15-minute sessions will continue indefinitely until someone scores.
The better approach would be to simply get rid of the two-possession rule for regular season games. This will increase one-possession overtimes (and in turn shorten the process) by allowing a team who wins the toss to kick a field goal and walk away.
In the postseason, the two-possession rule not only should survive but also be expanded to guarantee a second possession regardless of whether the team receiving the opening kickoff scores a field goal or a touchdown. If the league is willing to have different regular-season rules by reducing overtime to 10 minutes, why not ditch the two-possession rule under the single-elimination rounds?