The new fair catch rule is having an impact, as kickoff returns are way down this season.
Through Week Eight, there have been 1,217 kickoffs this NFL season and 939, or 77.2 percent, went for touchbacks. Only 231, or 18.9 percent, have been returned.
That’s a dramatic departure from last season, when 59.7 percent of kickoffs were touchbacks and 37.5 percent were returned.
The NFL implemented the new rule that makes it a touchback any time a returner fair catches the kickoff inside the 25-yard line in an attempt to reduce the number of kickoff returns and therefore the number of high-speed collisions causing injuries.
But many fans find kickoff returns exciting and touchbacks boring, and there’s a question about whether the NFL is making the product it puts on the field less exciting — and if the ultimate result will be a game without kickoffs at all.