The numbers that matter most — money and TV ratings — are up for the NFL. There’s one number that is down that the league doesn’t like.
“Statistically, what gives us concern a little bit is scoring,” Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said during a Thursday conference call. “Scoring this year at 43.5 is still above an historical marker, which has kind of been that 43 mark. But we were at 49 points per game during COVID [in 2020], and we went to 45 [in 2021], we went to 43.76 [in 2022], and now we’re down to 43.54.”
McKay believes the proposed change to the kickoff will impact field position by 3-5 yards per drive, which will lead to more scoring. (He spoke of the revised kickoff as a done deal, and maybe it will be if the owners think it will result in more points.)
Some would say the league shouldn’t care about doing things to improve scoring. But that’s what the league has been doing since the ‘70s, when it realized that more yards and more points results in more excitement and more viewers. And more money.
Still, legalized gambling makes candor about a desire for more points a riskier proposition. Already, it appears that officials sometimes look the other way when it comes to offensive linemen leaving early and offensive holding. Officials at times are a little too flag happy with roughing the passer.
At what point does the failure to enforce the rules as written in order to enhance scoring undermine the integrity of the game? By admitting that the league wants more scoring, the league invites speculation that certain calls are made or not made in order to goose the scoreboard, not in order to get every call right.
