Overtime confusion: Cowboys WR admits he didn’t know the rules
OT rules can be confusing - they are different in the NFL than in college football. Lately, the NFL has given us examples of different possible outcomes.
The Week 4 Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers was highly anticipated due to the return of defensive end Micah Parsons to Dallas for the first time since his trade to Green Bay a month ago. With the way the Cowboys had been playing lately, almost everyone had them losing.
Packers-Cowboys drew 26.9M viewers on Sunday Night Football, making it the NFL’s third-most-watched game of 2025.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 30, 2025
NBC treated the matchup like a mini–Super Bowl—and fans tuned in accordingly.
In the end, the Cowboys didn’t lose. But they didn’t win either. And neither did the Packers. Yes, it was a tie. And yes, in spite of all my personal whining, ties do exist in the NFL. And if you didn’t know that, you’re not alone. Not even all the players in that game knew.
Cowboys WR learns NFL overtime rules… after the game ends
The Dallas Cowboys’ Week 4 clash with the Green Bay Packers ended in a rare 40-40 tie, but the aftermath delivered another twist. Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens admitted he didn’t fully understand the NFL’s overtime rules, including the fact that games can end in a tie after one extra period.
George Pickens is most fans when it comes to OT and ties 🤣 Big night for GP but hard one to reconcile after 2 TDs and 134 receiving yards pic.twitter.com/9xaPe4KMQ3
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) September 29, 2025
“I’ve never been a part of a tie in my life,” Pickens said after the game. “I didn’t even know football worked like that. I thought we just would start another quarter right now, and keep going.”
His surprising revelation raised questions about whether the lack of awareness may have cost Dallas a chance to secure the win. While the game itself was an entertaining shootout, Pickens’ postgame comments highlighted how even NFL players can sometimes be caught off guard by the league’s complex overtime format.
Overtime rules in NFL vs college football
This is Pickens’ fourth season in the NFL, and although ties are rare, he should’ve probably known by now that the OT rules are different than they are in college football. In college ball, there are no ties - not since 1996 anyway. That year, the NCAA implemented an overtime system that ensures all games have a winner and a loser.
To make things more confusing in the NFL, the overtime rules are different in the regular season and the postseason.
NFL regular season overtime rules: One 10-minute period - both teams get at least one chance to possess the ball. If the time runs out and the score is still tied, the game will end in a tie.
NFL postseason overtime rules: A tie in the playoffs cannot happen as one team must advance. Therefore, the game will go into 15-minute periods until a winner is decided.
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