Here's the new NFL rule that former Colts punter Pat McAfee calls a 'bummer'

Here’s the new NFL rule that former Colts punter Pat McAfee calls a ‘bummer’

Posted by author July 31, 2024 NFL

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Pat McAfee used to make a living, in part, by executing excellent onside kicks. He’s unhappy with the new NFL rules regarding their use.

“The fact that we’ll never see a surprise onside kick is a bummer,” the former Indianapolis Colts punter/kickoff specialist said Wednesday on the “Dan Patrick Show.”

The NFL this week released onside kick rules for the 2024 season, including some previously unreleased tweaks:

∎ Onside kicks are allowed only in the fourth quarter.

∎ A team must be trailing to attempt an onside kick.

∎ The team must inform the officiating crew that it plans an onside kick.

McAfee pulled off one the NFL’s more famous onside kicks in 2014 against the Houston Texans, tapping the ball 10 yards and falling on it.

“That was all me,” he said. “And if I don’t get that, I just get up and walk right out of the stadium.”

McAfee said that play was made possible by successful surprise onside kicks earlier that season. Teams begun putting their “hands” teams on the field for all Colts kickoffs, protecting each sideline.

He added that the Colts’ onside kicks became an early case study for the NFL that, over time, diminished the influence of kickoffs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off the last successful surprise onside kick against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.

“The onside kick was something that was very special to football for a very long time,” McAfee said. “There was a glimmer of hope that a kicker was going to hit a perfect ball, and then the guys on the kickoff team were going to be to make a miraculous play.”

NFL kickoff changes for 2024

NFL kickoffs will look a lot different this season in an effort to allow for more returns while lessening the chance for high-speed collisions. The ball will be kicked from the kicking team’s 35-yard line, but the kicker’s teammates will lineup at the receiving team’s 40. Blockers will lineup at the receiving team’s 35.