Why Do NFL Teams Defer After Winning the Coin Toss?
- Football Nation
- Aug 24
- 6 min read
NFL teams usually defer because it preserves the winner’s right to choose at the start of the second half. In practice, the team lets its opponent receive the opening kickoff, then chooses to receive when the third quarter begins. The strategic prize is not an extra possession. It is control of the ball after halftime and the possibility of pairing a late second-quarter drive with the first drive of the third quarter.
That distinction matters: “defer” does not mean “kick.” A captain who simply chooses to kick has used the team’s first-half choice without reserving the second-half decision. The opponent then gets the first choice after halftime and can choose to receive again.
What does defer mean in the NFL?
At the coin toss, the winning team can select an immediate option or defer that selection until the second half. Rule 4, Section 2 of the 2026 NFL Rulebook establishes the choices available to the captains and the order in which they declare them. The NFL’s official coin-toss terminology says one captain on the winning team declares its option, after which the losing team declares from the remaining choices. The league added the ability to defer in 2008; before that change, the winner had to make its choice for the opening kickoff.
When a team defers, the opponent normally chooses to receive. The deferring team then chooses which goal to defend. Those roles reverse at halftime: the team that deferred has the first option and almost always takes the ball. The resulting kickoff may become a touchback, but ball placement is separate from the coin-toss decision.
The sequence is simple:
Team A wins the toss and defers.
Team B chooses to receive the opening kickoff.
Team A selects which goal to defend.
Before the third quarter, Team A exercises its deferred option and chooses to receive.
Team B selects the goal it will defend.
Why is the second-half kickoff so valuable?
Halftime gives coaches a guaranteed reset. They can review how the opponent defended formations, which pressures arrived, where the run fits bent and how field conditions changed. Receiving immediately after that meeting lets the offense apply those adjustments before the opponent gets another possession.
The larger strategic attraction is the “middle eight”: roughly the final four minutes of the second quarter and first four minutes of the third. A team that scores near the end of the half and then receives after halftime can produce two scoring drives without the opponent running an offensive play between them. That can turn a 10–7 deficit into a 21–10 lead.
It is only an opportunity. The defense still has to get the ball back, the offense must manage the two-minute warning, and the late drive has to succeed. A sack, turnover or poor play-clock decision can erase the entire sequence. Deferring controls the opening third-quarter possession; it does not guarantee the possession before halftime.
Does the opening drive after halftime score more often?
Not by much in the official data the NFL used when the rule changed. In 2007, teams scored on 32.0% of opening drives and 32.4% of drives opening the second half. Touchdown rates were slightly higher after halftime, but the samples were nearly identical overall.
Drive in 2007 | Scoring drives | Touchdown drives | Field-goal drives |
|---|---|---|---|
Opening drive of game | 82 of 256 (32.0%) | 50 of 256 (19.5%) | 32 of 256 (12.5%) |
Opening drive of second half | 83 of 256 (32.4%) | 55 of 256 (21.4%) | 28 of 256 (10.9%) |
Source: NFL.com’s Week 1 analysis of the new 2008 deferral rule. Percentages are calculated from the league’s published drive totals; the NFL article rounded the field-goal rate to 11%.
The table is a useful corrective. Coaches are not deferring because a halftime speech magically makes the first third-quarter drive efficient. They are buying certainty about when one possession begins. That timing can improve game management, especially if the offense reaches the red zone just before halftime.
Why “kick” and “defer” are not interchangeable
The clearest way to understand the rule is to separate the verbs.
Receive: take the opening kickoff now.
Kick: give the opponent the opening kickoff now, while using your first-half choice.
Defer: save your first choice for the second half.
Defend a goal: choose the end zone your team will protect.
This is more than wording. In 2019, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott said the Cowboys wanted to “kick” and then “defer” during a confusing exchange with the referee. Replay officials reviewed audio and ruled that Dallas had eventually said “defer,” allowing the Cowboys to receive after halftime. Without that clarification, the Rams could have received to start both halves.
Green Bay had a similar scare in 2023 when Jaire Alexander initially said his team wanted to be on defense. The referee clarified that the Packers wanted to defer. The league later noted that the clarification prevented Carolina from potentially receiving both opening kickoffs.
Captains rehearse these words for the same reason quarterbacks rehearse an audible: one short call can change everyone’s assignment. Clear sideline communication, including the NFL’s helmet-radio system, cannot rescue a team from an incorrectly declared toss option.
When does receiving first make sense?
Deferring is popular, but receiving is not automatically wrong. A coach may want an aggressive scripted opening drive, particularly with a strong offense facing a defense that starts slowly. Scoring first can change the opponent’s play selection and crowd energy. It can also keep an elite opposing quarterback on the sideline.
Weather can matter. Wind may make the choice of goal more important than possession, especially if a major change is expected. A coach may also prefer the ball when the offense has a matchup it wants to attack before the defense can adjust.
Kyle Shanahan reinforced the case for deferring before a 2024 playoff game. Shanahan said he normally deferred and would not change that routine merely because Green Bay had scored after receiving the previous week. He favored the potential late-second-quarter and early-third-quarter possession sequence over trying to deny an opponent one opening drive. His explanation supports the middle-eight strategy: deferral creates an opportunity to pair possessions, not a guaranteed advantage.
Late-game context does not alter the opening choice, but it explains why possession timing matters. Teams that trail may eventually need an onside kick; teams that controlled the middle eight may avoid that desperation entirely.
The strongest misconception
The biggest misconception is that deferring gives a team the ball twice. Every team still receives one kickoff to begin a half unless an unusual ruling or special-teams event changes possession. The advantage is sequencing: a team may finish the first half with the ball and is guaranteed the opportunity to choose first for the second half.
That is why the middle-eight graphic says “potential,” not “automatic.” If the opponent runs out the second-quarter clock, the deferring team only gets the normal third-quarter possession. If the opponent scores last, deferral may merely give the receiving team a chance to answer.
Football Nation takeaway
Most NFL teams defer because the second-half kickoff is controllable and the possession before halftime is contestable. Win the late-second-quarter drive, receive to open the third, and a close game can swing without the opponent’s offense touching the ball.
But the smartest version of the strategy is precise, not automatic. Say “defer,” understand that the double score must be earned, and be willing to receive first when the offensive matchup or weather makes immediate possession more valuable.
Frequently asked questions
Does deferring guarantee the ball after halftime?
It gives the deferring team the first option for the second half. Teams almost always use that option to receive, so practically the answer is yes, barring an unusual choice or event.
Can a team receive to start both halves?
Yes, if the coin-toss winner mistakenly chooses to kick rather than defer. The opponent receives first, then owns the first choice for the second half and can choose to receive again.
Does the team that loses the toss get any choice?
Yes. After the winner declares its option, the other team selects from the remaining choices, including which goal to defend when the opponent chooses to receive.
Why do broadcasters call it a double score?
They mean a team scored late in the second quarter and again on the opening third-quarter possession. It is two consecutive scoring drives around halftime, not two automatic possessions created by the toss.
Did the NFL always allow teams to defer?
No. The NFL adopted the college-style deferral option for the 2008 season. Before then, the toss winner had to make its choice for the first half.
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