Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff, right, hugs Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, left, after an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. The Rams won 54-51. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Expansion of the Helmet Rule: An NFL Success Story
On Monday night, the LA Rams topped the Kansas City Chiefs 54 to 51, the highest scoring game in Monday Night Football history. The 105 combined points represent the third-most in NFL history behind the Redskins win over the New York Giants (113 points) in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals win over the Cleveland Browns (106 points) in 2004. There were over 1,000 yards of offense and each quarterback threw for over 400 yards.
Following Monday night’s historic game, it is fitting to reflect on the success of the NFL rule changes newly in effect for the 2018 season, discussed in our post earlier this season (HERE). The rule change we are most interested in is the expansion of the “crown of the helmet rule” where players can be penalized fifteen yards if they lower their helmet and initiate contact with an opponent. In addition, players can now be ejected if their action is especially flagrant. As a direct result of this change, we have a drop off in quarterback injuries and a spike in points scored per game through week eleven.
Through week eleven, only two NFL quarterbacks with a salary cap hit over one million dollars have been placed on injured reserve: Jimmy Garoppolo and Alex Smith, a 66% decrease from the same period in 2017. It is significant to distinguish quarterbacks by their salary cap hit because it represents the opportunity cost for signing that player, or the money that the team cannot spend in signing other players. In other words, if the salary cap hit for a team’s injured quarterback is higher, the team can spend less on active players. This drop off does not only occur for high-salaried quarterbacks however. If we count all quarterbacks, only five have been placed on injured reserve in the 2018 season through week eleven, a 55% decrease from the same period in 2017.
So far in 2018 NFL teams have scored an average of 24.2 points per game, an all-time high. 24.2 points per game represents an 11.52 percent increase over the previous year and 6.89 percent over the previous five year average. This increase in points scored per game is driven largely by the health of quarterbacks, specifically high-salaried quarterbacks. The rule change has gifted us a season that has become more entertaining because we are able to watch more starting quarterbacks compete on Sundays and more points scored by high-flying NFL offenses.
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