The onside kick has been a longstanding staple of American football, allowing the scoring team to keep possession of the ball if it was kicked 10 yards and recovered. However, recent years have seen a sharp decline in its success rate, particularly when the opposing team anticipates it. Journalist Mark Maske noted in 2019 that the inability of kicking team players to get a running start before the kick has contributed to the lack of success experienced by teams with onside kicks that season. Additionally, changes made by the NFL to improve player safety have further reduced its popularity. But as of March 2023, the NFL’s Super Bowl LVII runner-up team has put forward a proposal to the league. This proposal suggests that the traditional onside kick be replaced with an experimental XFL-style rule.

The Philadelphia Eagles take inspiration from XFL

The proposal by the Philadelphia Eagles seems to be inspired by a polarizing XFL rule, that makes onside kicks more interesting with a twist. The XFL rule allows the scoring team in the fourth quarter to maintain possession after completing a fourth-and-15 from its 25-yard line. The rule proposed by the Eagles slightly tweaks the XFL rule, to allow teams to retain possession after scoring by completing a fourth-and-20 from the 20-yard line. 

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The play has already delivered promising results for the XFL in Week 1 since implementation. The St. Louis Battlehawks’ offense saw success when QB A.J. McCarron connected with wide receiver Hakeem Butler to convert a three-point attempt by the San Antonio Brahmas. The play was so successful that it prompted USA Today journalists Jace Evans, Richard Morin, Jim Reineking, and Lorenzo Reyes to tell the NFL to “retire the onside kick forever”. They said, “The NFL should look no further than Sunday for why it needs to adopt the XFL’s fourth-and-15, got-to-have-it down to replace the onside kick”. 

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The death of the onside kick?

This is not the first time the Eagles have proposed a change in the onside kick rule. In 2020, they proposed a similar rule to allow teams to use the fourth-and-20 twice in a game. The NFL deliberated the alternative before the 2020 season, but it was ultimately tabled. The alternative is increasingly looking like a popular choice among fans and experts alike. 

What do you think about the proposal? Will it make the game safer for the players and more exciting for the fans? Will the NFL accept the proposal or are they going to stick with the good ol’ onside kick?

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