Always wondered...why DID the NFL get rid of "sudden-death" overtime?

[mr_lebowski]

2. Because there was too much statistical correlation between 'winning the toss' and

winning the game.

I forget what the % was but they decades worth of data by the time they changed the rules to a system that would sharply reduce the 'influence' of a random event like a single coin toss. I think was like 55% of the time the team that won the toss won the game, and the stats showed conclusively it was an unearned advantage.

Also, there is still 'sudden death', just not via a field goal by the team that won the toss. They have to get a TD otherwise opponent gets one drive to 'answer' that FG (or get a td and win) in which case it's back to a tie, and the first score of any kind after THAT ... wins the game. Its much more fair, now, reall.

College's system OTOH is quite different. But they changed their rules first and the fact that many liked their change I think prompted the NFL to make their own similar but different change to reduce the impact of 'pure chance'.