With 13 touchdowns and 0 kickoff returns, Super Bowl LVIII marked the end of the kickoff era

Super Bowl LVIII was the last NFL game played before the kickoff rules were radically changed, and was a symbol of why the league decided a major change was needed.

In the Super Bowl to end the 2023 season, the Chiefs and 49ers combined to start the game 13 times. All 13 of them were touching. It has been The first Super Bowl ever without kickoff returns. All but one of the kickoffs were cleared all the way out of the end zone. The 13 matches played were essentially meaningless.

That's one of the two things the new kickoff rule is designed to change. The first thing the new kickoff is supposed to change is the hit rate on kickoffs, where 19 or 20 players will be lined up five yards apart from each other and won't be able to start running and generate collisions at full speed. For this reason, the rule, colloquially called the “XFL kickoff,” is best described as a “low-impact kickoff.”

But the other thing the new kickoff rule aims to change is the lack of punt returns: Under the rule, if the ball goes out of bounds or doesn't reach the 20-yard line, the receiving team can take it at their 40. And when the ball is fumbled, the receiving team can To take it at the 30th minute. This means that the kicking team will be incentivized to kick the ball between the 20th minute and the goal line. Where it can be returned.

The new rule does not guarantee that every kickoff will be replayed. But it is unlikely that any game will have 13 kickoffs and none returned. Kickoff returns return to the NFL. The Super Bowl was the end of an era.