The New NFL Rules for 2025 and What They Mean for the Miami Dolphins

There will be some changes in the NFL in 2025, including a significant one that could have impacted a Miami Dolphins game last season.

That involves overtime, which now will guarantee each team at least one offensive possession regardless of the outcome of the first drive, with a time limit of 10 minutes.

This would have impacted the Dolphins' Week 14 victory against the New York Jets last season that ended on Tua Tagovailoa's touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith to end the opening drive of overtime. Under the new rules, the Jets would have gotten a chance to match the touchdown (or beat it with a touchdown and two-point conversion).

The most talked-about item on the agenda, though, was the famous (or infamous) "tush push," but no vote was taken on it as the proposal to ban it was pushed back for further discussion.

Also pushed back (or tabled) was a vote on the Detroit Lions' proposal to seed playoff teams strictly by record without regard to division winners.

Under the proposed bylaw, the NFL playoff seeding format would eliminate the automatic home game for the four division winners in each conference and simply seed the teams by record.

The division winners still would get into the playoffs regardless, but no more home games for teams that finish with mediocre records.

The new rule would have had a great impact on the Dolphins in the 2023 season because instead of having to play at frigid Arrowhead Stadium against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs, they would have faced the Cleveland Browns as the No. 5 seed. They still would have been on the road, but Cleveland obviously isn't the same kind of matchup that Kansas City was on its way to its second consecutive Super Bowl title.

It was the Houston Texans who benefited in 2023 from the current playoff seeding format because they got a home game with a 10-7 record when the Browns and Dolphins each finished with an 11-6 record.

The Dolphins also would have had a different first-round playoff match in 2016 under his proposed new format because Houston (again) wound up with the No. 4 seed despite having the worst record of any AFC playoff team that season.

So instead of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dolphins would have played the Oakland Raiders on the road, Houston would have been at Pittsburgh, and New England and Kansas City still would have had the two byes (there were six playoff teams in each conference that year).

From this vantage point, though, while there's merit in rewarding a team for finishing with a better record, this proposed change would take away one of the big perks for winning a division title. And it says that for every team that's hurt by the currently setup, there's a team that benefits, and chances are it will even out in the end.

Here's a quick look at what else was decided at the league meetings:

FREE AGENCY TWIST

NFL owners approved for one year a resolution changed proposed by the Pittsburgh Steelers that will allow teams to have one video or phone with as many as five impending free agents during the two-day negotiation period. Teams also will be allow to make travel arrangements with any of those players upon agreeing to terms. Teams were allowed to speak only with agents during the negotiating period before this change.

NO CHANGE ON DEFENSIVE HOLDING

This was another one proposed by the Lions, the elimination of the automatic first down for defensive holding or illegal contact, but it was voted down. We were a little more torn on this one because it's frustrating to watch a team get a cheap first down because of defensive holding on a third-and-20, for example. But the flip side is that defenders might try to get away with that holding or illegal contact more often if they know a flag wouldn't result in an automatic first down. So we're good with keeping the status quo here.

REPLAY EXPANDED

This one deals with replay assist and the ability to waive off a flag when there's a clear evidence no infraction was committee to justify one. It again does not call for a flag to be added on a play where nothing was called.

KICKOFF TWIST

The "dynamic" kickoff is back for good, with a permanent twist giving returning teams the ball at the 35-yard line — instead of the 30 — for a kickoff that lands into the end zone. There's also a tweak in the alignment requirements for the receiving team in the setup zone.

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