How Different NFL History Looks With New Rules

Jan 11, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) is unable to catch a pass against Green Bay Packers cornerback Sam Shields (37) in the fourth quarter in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

One thing that has become clear is that the NFL is always changing.  Not just in terms of new schemes, players and coaches but also new rules that makes the game different from one decade to the next.  It’s interesting to think about how different history might be if modern rules were applied to pivotal plays of the past.

Here are just a few examples to help illustrate what a little writing in a book could mean to the fates of franchises.

Going To The Ground

The rule that has really dominated the public consciousness for the past five years, first with Calvin Johnson pioneering it in 2010 and then again with Dez Bryant in the divisional playoffs last season.

"“If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.”"

Cowboys fans should be thankful this rule wasn’t around back in the 1970s.  When Dallas reached the Super Bowl in 1977, they were vying for a second Lombardi trophy against the Cinderella Denver Broncos.

By the third quarter the Cowboys had seen a 13-0 lead trimmed to 13-3.  The Broncos’ Orange Crush defense was giving them all sorts of problems.  Then quarterback Roger Staubach took a gamble and went deep for wide receiver Butch Johnson.

Back then the rule was he only had to have the ball until he crossed the goal line.  So technically the play was a touchdown as called.  However, it’s clear from the replay that according to the new rule that would’ve been an incomplete pass.

Most agree that play was considered the backbreaker for Denver, who fell behind 20-3 and no longer had enough time to close the gap.  They ended up losing 27-10.