Should the NFL Have Ties? — Sports Survey of the Day
After a competitive 60 minutes of regulation and 15 minutes of overtime, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings played to a stalemate, tying in their Week 12 game. Should there be ties in the NFL?
On one hand, nobody wants to pay money to go to a stadium or spend four hours in front of their television to watch a tie. The NHL got rid of ties for a reason and, since the NFL isn't a soccer league, it could do the same in the interest of fan friendliness.
However, there is a strategic element to having ties in football. With the Packers trying to stay in the NFC playoff picture, a tie is far more valuable than a loss. Their ability to rally and not lose a key game without having star quarterback Aaron Rodgers available should be rewarded with more than the opportunity to keep playing and potentially lose.
The other benefit to keeping ties in the NFL is the player safety element that prevents players from remaining in a potentially unending football game. Unlike baseball, where a 22-inning game is nothing more than a fun footnote in a long season, there are serious medical repercussions that could result from a quadruple overtime football game.
Should the NFL have ties?