Bears would benefit from NFL changing one rule to make play relevant again

The Chicago Bears enjoyed a series of late-game wins last year that left most fans on the edge of their seat for the better part of the second half of each game, all the way until the final moment. For a while, it appeared that Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams were playing it cool until the second half, when they began to play football.

Included in those late-game wins came two separate victories over the rival Green Bay Packers, one of which included a dramatic last-ditch onside kick to give the Bears a shot at winning. With a storied rivalry between two massive fan bases and the division held aloft in the fray, the game culminated in a Hail Mary finish that will go down among the greats in Bears history.

The NFL's Competition Committee, the league's primary rule-shaping body, isn't expecting proposed rule changes to the onside kick rules this offseason. Many fans and players alike have taken to social media to call for changes to the rules on the onside kick. The committee meets annually in late February to discuss injury trends, officiating rules, rule proposals, etc. Nothing becomes official at the combine; it's more like an alignment meeting to ensure all parties are informed.

A Broken Play the NFL Refuses to Fix

There were only a handful of successful onside kick attempts this season, the most prominent of which came in Week 16. The NFL is continually striving to make the game safer, implementing the dynamic kickoff, a kickoff formation designed to reduce collisions.

One key problem with this rule change is that the onside kick must be declared prior to kickoff. This removes an essential part of the play design, as deceit is fundamental. This has created an environment where the onside kick is all but obsolete.

Multiple different proposals have been floating around, a prominent one being a "fourth and 15" alternative. It's a scenario where, instead of kicking the ball, they opt for a single offensive down from deep in their own territory. If they achieve a first down, they retain possession. It has been used in various alternative professional football leagues in several different formats.

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The Bears may have found late-game success under the current rules, but it's clear that a change is needed. Whether or not you support the fourth-and-15 substitutes, an onside kick when a team is on a comeback is foundational to the magic that can happen in football. If deception defines football everywhere else, why is the onside kick the exception?