NFL won't admit new kickoff rule has backfired

The NFL hoped a new rule would lead to fewer kickoff returns and, thus, fewer significant injuries during what it has deemed its most dangerous play. However, through four weeks, it appears those plays have only increased.

This season, the ball is placed at the 25-yard line on touchbacks instead of at the 20, providing an incentive for teams to choose not to run out long kicks. Teams have instead responded by kicking the ball short of the goal line in hopes of pinning opponents short of the 25-yard line. According to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, kick returns are up five percent and touchbacks are down four percent compared to the first quarter of last season.

But if you ask the league, it isn't concerned with such numbers.

"It's pretty close to where we thought it would be," a source speaking on behalf of the NFL told Maske. "I don't know how it will turn out. I don't know if it will have a negative impact. I don't know if it will have a positive impact. I don't know if it will have no impact. We'll see. Let's see what happens when the weather turns. That's why we did it for one year."

The adjustment to the touchback was approved as a one-year trial.