Kansas City Chiefs have found loophole in new NFL kick-off rules – how genius Andy Reid could change way rivals kick

THE new NFL kick-off rules have gotten disapproval from fans and even Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid – an old-school legend who has seemed to once again outsmart his competition.

The three-time Super Bowl champion Reid has a way of scheming around the new kick-off rules which could be copied in a copy-cat league.

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The new NFL kick-off rules are lengthy, to say the least.

This X video shows how the new kick-off rules looked in NFL’s Week 1.

The rules state that the kicking team has 10 players that are lined up stationary on the returning team’s 40-yard line as they go against the receiving team’s 11 stationary players – seven are on their own 35, at least two players on the 30 and no more than two players in the landing zone (the first 20 yards).

Both teams don’t move until the ball is received by the return man or hits the ground in the landing zone (the first 20 yards).

The NFL rules and safety committee implemented the new kickoff rules which were previously used in the XFL and have been put in place to address the number of high-speed collisions associated with the old kickoff rules.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion head coach Reid doesn’t like havoc, especially when it comes to kick-offs.

And his analytics team told him to kick the ball into the endzone all six times against the Baltimore Ravens in the season-opening win.

Each of the kicks were touchbacks and the NFL’s new rules state that touchbacks bring the ball out to the 30-yard line.

“We just kind of went off the stats that we had, and we felt that that was the best way to go,” Reid explained.

“In a perfect world, if you can kick it right to the goal line and kind of skip it down in there, that’d be great.

“As you saw in the games yesterday, you saw people trying to do that and then it bounces out of bounds, or they get it before the end zone line and goal line and then they return it for a big return.

“Then, you look at vice versa, they’re saying, ‘Well we had a chance to return it, we got it past the 30 (yard line),’ that’s just kind of what it is. You got to be spot on with the kick and that’s a lot to ask there.”

Reid used the NFL’s preseason data which told him that the average kickoff during the exhibition games went for 28 yards.

That means if the ball is caught in the landing zone (the first 20 yards), it can get returned past the 30-yard line on plenty of occasions.

AP

The four-game data revealed that the opponent simply gains a few yards if a touchback occurs.

It seems that the other 15 matchups took notes on Reid’s method.

During Week 1, the league had 171 total kickoffs and 57 were returned.

That means about 33 percent of kickoffs were returned – a 21 percent return rate increase from 2023’s Week 1 games.

One kickoff return saw it returned for a touchdown and a fumble also occurred in one kickoff.

However, the NFL had targeted a 55 to 60 percent increase.

Reid trusts his defense to handle opposing defenses starting at the 30-yard line.

And why wouldn’t he? His defense hasn’t changed much from last year’s top-five championship unit.

The future Hall of Famer Reid doesn’t like the new rules – and many fans feel the same way.

Sure there will be more kickoffs returned and potentially fewer injuries to come, but even more teams could use Reid’s loophole in the rules.

And let’s face it: The kickoffs look weird and some players likely still don’t know all of the rules.

Reid is like the iconic Bill Belichick in that they find a way to be a step ahead of the competition.

Don’t be surprised if the NFL tweaks its rules in the not-so-distant future because of his strategy.