NFL Kickoff Returns Down In Week 1 As League Inevitably Moves Toward Eliminating Play Entirely

The NFL continues to make rules designed to limit the number of kickoff returns. In 2016, the league changed the offense’s starting yard line from the 20 to the 25 on touchbacks. This offseason, the NFL adopted the same rule that college football implemented where returners can call for a fair catch on any kickoff and receive a touchback.

Many people around the league hated the proposal, but the league passed it anyway. The idea was to stop teams from using the high, arching kickoff that had to be caught and returned from between the endzone and the 5-yard-line.

Following the 25-yard-touchback change, teams realized that this “pop-up kick” often resulted in worse field position for their opponent.

But because the NFL is on a crusade to end kickoffs, it tried to eliminate this strategy. And so far, it’s working.

According to ESPN, “The league recorded a historically low 20.5% kickoff return rate” in Week 1 this season. That’s the lowest in any week of any NFL season in at least the past 23 years.

Touchbacks accounted for over 75% of kickoffs, also a high over that same span. Since teams are no longer using the pop-up kick, they are incentivized to boot the ball into the endzone at much higher rates. And that’s exactly what happened.

NFL continues to move away from kickoff returns

Studies show that kick returns are the most dangerous play in football, relative to head injuries. With all the emphasis on concussion prevention in the NFL, moving away from kickoffs is the logical endgame.

That just begs the question: when is the league going to eliminate the kickoff entirely? For now, there’s no way for a scoring team to regain possession except through an onside kick. So, they cannot yet eliminate the kickoff.

But once teams agree to a new method to solve that problem, expect kickoffs to end.

Unless the NFL tries something different. The XFL implemented a unique approach to kickoffs where both teams start ten yards apart from one another. In this circumstance, no players can move until the kick is caught.

The benefit of this kickoff method is that players aren’t able to get up to full speed before colliding with one another. It’s those collisions that increase the likelihood of head injuries for players.

But it’s unclear if the NFL is willing to try something so different from how the game has always been played. Then again, adding a possession-retaining play outside of the kickoff would represent quite a departure from the game as we know it, too.

No matter which direction the league goes, the game is going to change.

Whether or not that’s a positive thing remains to be seen.