BOCA RATON, Fla. — National Football League owners today adopted seven rules changes for 2016, including eliminating all chop blocks (which the Steelers supported) and permanently putting the point-after-touchdown kick at the 15-yard line after a one-year experiment.
Among the other significant changes:
u25a0 The horse-collar rule was expanded to include any tackle made by back of jersey at or above the nameplate.
u25a0 Offensive or defensive coordinators who sit upstairs in the coaches booth can now relay plays directly to the field instead of to an assistant coach on the sideline.
u25a0 The 5-yard penalty for an eligible receiver illegally touching a forward pass after being out of bounds and re-establishing himself inbounds has been eliminated and will now be a loss of down.