The NFL's new kickoff rules are chaotic, a little confusing but they're going to produce some serious highlights

Remember those days in the NFL when a team would kick off, the ball would sail through the air, no one would touch it and it would land in the end zone for a touchback?

Oh, right. That was last year. And the year before. And it’s been like that for a while.

Until now! We have new kickoff rules that debuted on Thursday night at the Hall of Fame game between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.

I see some people complaining, but by like Week 3, you’ll be like “OMG THESE ARE THE BEST!” To sum it up, the kickers try to boot into a landing zone in front of the end zone, and touchbacks are sort of penalized if they land in the end zone by placing the ball at the 30-yard line.

But this encourages returns! And hopefully this is safer than what kickoffs used to look like.

The NFL's new dynamic kickoff rules pic.twitter.com/1N02SW7e4k

— ESPN (@espn) August 2, 2024

For the first time… the Dynamic Kickoff

: @ProFootballHOF Game on ESPN/ABC
: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/wga0LmuvtH

— NFL (@NFL) August 2, 2024

More action is good. We’re going to get some chaotic moments in these returns as players get used to the rules and nuances, and I’m all here for it.