The score is tied, the final seconds of the fourth quarter are ticking away, and both teams have exhausted their timeouts. What happens now?

Aside from getting to watch some free football, victory is still possible for either team. The rules for this extra time, however, differ slightly depending on whether the game takes place during the 18-week regular season or the postseason.

But how will the OT unfold from a rules perspective? The Athletic has a complete overview for you.

What are the OT rules during the regular season?

If a regular season game reaches the end of regulation time with a tie, the captains of both teams and an umpire will conduct a coin toss. The visiting captain calls a coin toss, and the winner of the toss declares whether his team wants to have the ball first or which end of the field he wants to defend. Given the structure of overtime in the NFL, it is usually advantageous to attack first.

There will be a break of up to three minutes, after which a 10-minute period begins during which each team must have an opportunity to attack. The only exception to this is when the first team to receive the ball scores a touchdown on its opening OT possession. In this case, the game ends immediately and the other team does not have an opportunity to attack. If the first team to receive the ball does not score a touchdown (instead kicks a field goal, punts, or loses the ball), the other team gets an opportunity to possess the ball. If the score remains tied after each team has possessed the ball, OT continues in sudden-death play until one team scores by any method (touchdown, field goal, or safety), and the game ends.

There is another case in which the game ends on the first possession of the ball and no touchdown is scored. If the team that kicks off to start overtime scores a safety on the receiving team’s first possession of the ball, the team that kicked off is the winner.

Jets wide receiver Xavier Gipson ends a game against the Bills by scoring a touchdown on a punt return in overtime. (Photo: Robert Deutsch / USA Today)

Each team is allowed two timeouts during this extra play period. If a team ends regular time with unused timeouts, they are canceled once the fourth quarter is over. Coaches have no direct replay challenges during OT. All reviews are initiated by the replay official.

If the score is still tied at the end of 10 minutes of extra time, the match will be recorded as a draw in both teams’ records. The 2023 season will be the first since 2017 without a draw.

What are the OT rules during the post season?

The rules for overtime in the postseason are not identical to the rules for the regular season, as games cannot end in a tie during this stage of the season. The OT period is 15 minutes long during the postseason and requires that both teams have at least one chance to possess the ball. The exception to this is if the team that kicked the ball to start the OT scores a safety on the opponent’s first possession. In this case, the game immediately ends with a win for the team that kicked off.

After each team has played offense, the team with the most points wins. If the score is still tied, the next team to score by any means wins. If the score remains tied at the end of the 15 minutes — or if the second team has not completed its first offensive drive by that point — the teams play another OT period. Play continues until a winner is determined.

If more than one OT period is required, there is a two-minute break between each OT period.

At the beginning of the third overtime In that case, the captain who lost the first OT coin toss may choose whether to attack or choose which end zone his team will defend, unless the team that won the coin toss has postponed that choice.

If the score is still tied after the fourth overtime, a coin is tossed again and the teams continue playing until one team has more points than the opponent.

Each team gets three timeouts per half (two overtimes), as opposed to two timeouts during overtime in the regular season.

Required reading

(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)