A modest change to the NFL's kickoff rules made a massive impact on Week 1, producing the highest single-week return rate in 15 years.
In the league's first slate of regular-season games since the touchback was moved to the 35-yard line, teams returned 118 of 156 kickoffs for a 75.6% return rate. The last time the NFL had a higher return rate for a single week was Week 17 of the 2010 season.
Last weekend's games were particularly rare compared to other recent opening weeks. The last time the NFL had a return rate higher than 50% in Week 1 also was 2010 (78.1%).
The NFL overhauled its kickoff prior to the 2024 season after more than a decade of declining return rates, caused largely by rule changes that incentivized teams to pursue touchbacks and lower the number of concussions and other injuries. In 2023, only 21.8% of kickoffs were returned -- the fewest since at least 2000 and likely in the modern history of the game. Not a single kickoff was returned in Super Bowl LVIII at the end of that season.
After analyzing a new alignment that first appeared in the XFL during its 2020 season, the NFL's special teams coaches recommended a new approach for 2024.
Instead of reducing the number of returns, they suggested an alignment that minimized the number of high-speed collisions. The kickoff now begins with most players already standing downfield, rather than running at full speed to get there. They can begin to cover the kick as soon as the ball touches the ground or a member of the return team.
The original 2024 proposal called for touchbacks to be spotted at the 35-yard line, which league rule-makers believed would be a powerful incentive for coaches to kick a returnable ball. But it was changed to the 30-yard line as a compromise in order to generate enough support from owners to approve the rule.
The full-season return rate in 2024 improved to 32.8% but fell well short of the league's goal. The average drive after a kickoff return started at the 28.8-yard line, and so most coaches preferred the certainty of a touchback in exchange for an additional 1.2 yards.
This spring, however, owners approved a revival of the 35-yard touchback proposal in March. Coaches acknowledged they would be less likely to exchange that certainty for an additional 5 yards of field position, and in Week 1 they followed through.