With the Broncos down in the fourth quarter looking to muster a dramatic comeback, Denver's hoping for a 15-yard gain rather than an onside kick.
At least that's the Broncos' proposal as part of the 2019 Club Playing Rules Proposals, which were shared with the NFL's 32 teams on Friday.
Of the nine proposals, Denver proposed three, with perhaps the most interesting being "an alternative to the onside kick that would allow a team who is trailing in the game an opportunity to maintain possession of the ball after scoring."
Delving deeper, the Broncos are proposing that on one possession per game during the fourth quarter, a team could forego a kickoff and attempt to convert a fourth-and-15 play from its 35-yard line.
One could call it an onside-conversion attempt. That's actually what the first-year Alliance of American Football calls it, as it implements a similar play, though it's a fourth and 12 from the 28 and there are no limits to how many times a team can elect to go for it, only that it comes with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
Another proposal by Kansas City that is likely to draw notice is a change to overtime wherein both teams would be allowed to possess the ball in overtime even if a touchdown is scored on the first possession. This became a hot-button issue when the Tom Brady-led Patriots passed up the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game en route to the Super Bowl. Hence, it's little surprise who the author of the amendment is. In the same proposal, K.C. is hoping to eliminate the overtime period altogether in preseason games.
Washington has a pair of replay proposals: The first is that all plays are subject to a coaches' challenge or review of instant replay and the second is to add personal fouls to replay. In all there were seven proposals involving replay.
