Moments in NFL History: NFL worked overtime in 1955 preseason game

By: Jacob Ray/Pro Football Hall of Fame
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Baltimore Colts' Steve Myhra (65) kicks a field goal with with 10 seconds remaining in the score against the New York Giants at 17-17 to send it into overtime during the NFL championship football game at New York's Yankee Stadium. The Colts won 23-17 to take the league title.Credit: Associated Press

A walk-off home run. A buzzer beater. A game-winning field goal.

What takes some of these exciting, “sudden-death” moments in sports to another level? When they occur in overtime.

Sudden-death overtime in the National Football League has changed, just like the game itself, from when it first was installed into league rules. In 1940, the NFL adopted overtime for divisional tie-break games, then for championship games in 1946.

On this date (Aug. 28) in 1955, the NFL allowed a preseason game between the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants (played in Portland, Oregon) to utilize sudden-death rules.

Harry Glickman, the promoter for this game, wanted to generate more interest and sell more tickets for the game – and wouldn’t you know, regulation ended in a 17-17 tie. The Rams ultimately walked away victorious, 23-17. The game had its own Hall of Fame flavor, featuring future enshrinees FRANK GIFFORD, DAN REEVES, WELLINGTON MARA, SID GILLMAN, TOM LANDRY and NORM VAN BROCKLIN.

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Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams shown in an undated photo.Credit: Associate Press
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New York Giants halfback Frank Gifford. Credit: Rooney/Associated Press

The Aug. 28 game set the stage for classic sudden-death overtime games to come, most notable “The Greatest Game Ever Played” in 1958. Since the adaptation of the sudden-death overtime rule, changes included:

  • 1940: Adopted for divisional tiebreak games only
  • 1946: Adopted for championship games
  • 1974: Adopted for regular-season and preseason games with a 15-minute period
  • 2010: Amended sudden-death rules, where a first-possession touchdown would end the game, but a first-possession field goal would allow the other team to possess the ball
  • 2017: Amended rules to implement a 10-minute overtime period during regular-season games
  • 2021: Removed preseason sudden-death overtime period
  • 2022: Amended rule, giving both teams the opportunity to possess the ball no matter the result of the first drive (in the playoffs only)
  • 2025: Amended rule, extending the 2022 rule to the regular season
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Baltimore Colts' Steve Myhra (65) kicks a field goal with with 10 seconds remaining in the score against the New York Giants at 17-17 to send it into overtime during the NFL championship football game at New York's Yankee Stadium. The Colts won 23-17 to take the league title.Credit: Associated Press

Here are some notable overtime games that have shaped NFL history:

  • 1958 NFL Championship Game (“The Greatest Game Ever Played”): The first postseason game to be played under the sudden-death rules
  • 2011 Wild Card Game: Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow connects with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas only 11 seconds into the overtime period to win the game, 29-23
  • Minnesota Vikings vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (2012): The Vikings kicked a field goal on their first drive in overtime, and Jacksonville failed to answer on its drive
  • Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (2012): First game in which both teams scored in overtime; the Texans eventually won 43-37
  • Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers (2013): First sudden-death overtime game in which both teams scored in a game that ended in a tie (26-26)
  • Super Bowl LI (2016 season): First Super Bowl to go into overtime; the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. Patriots scored on their first possession, and the Falcons did not have a chance to answer
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New England Patriots' Julian Edelman makes a catch as Atlanta Falcons' Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal defend, during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl LI.Credit: Patrick Semansky/Associated Press
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons (2019): Currently the shortest overtime period in NFL history at 7 seconds. (A pick-six ended the game, a 28-22 Falcons win)
  • Super Bowl LVIII (2023 season): Kansas City Chiefs possess the ball after the San Francisco 49ers, scoring on a walk-off touchdown to win the Super Bowl, 25-22
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs the ball during overtime of the NFL Super Bowl LVIII game against the San Francisco 49ers. Credit: Ben Liebenberg via Associated Press

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