New NFL rule proposals: How do they affect the Denver Broncos?

Multiple NFL teams submitted proposals to amend certain rules the the league Wednesday. While the Denver Broncos did not submit any amendments, many of them would have an effect on the franchise if approved by the league.

One of the most important submissions came from the Detroit Lions. The amendment would change how teams are seeded in the playoffs, seeding them by record instead of guaranteeing a divisional champion a top-four seed. This season, that wouldn’t have affected the Broncos, but would’ve placed the Los Angeles Chargers as the No. 4 seed in the AFC and the Houston Texans as the No. 5 seed.

From our folks at NFL Research, this is how the seeding would’ve looked for this past postseason under the #Lions’ new proposal to seed by record. So AFC Wild Card weekend would’ve been similar (LAC home vs HOU though) but NFC would’ve been:

LAR at PHI
TB at MIN
GB at WAS pic.twitter.com/0nAvVivtLb

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 19, 2025

Since the Broncos didn’t have the tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the other 10-7 team in the AFC Playoffs, they would’ve stayed as the No. 7 seed in this year’s playoffs.

Detroit also proposed the removal of an automatic first down on defensive holding and illegal contact penalties. As it stands, both result a five-yard penalty and an automatic first down. The Broncos committed four illegal contact penalties (tied third-most in the NFL) and five defensive holding penalties (tied 15th-most in NFL) in 2024.

In Denver’s gut-wrenching 16-14 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs last year, an automatic first down at the hands of illegal contact completely changed the game. The Broncos were up 14-3 in the second quarter, and sacked Patrick Mahomes on a 3rd & 9. However, there was illegal contact in the secondary on the play, reviving the Chiefs’ drive.

If the rule proposal was in place for this play, the result would have been a 3rd & 4 for Kansas City instead of a 1st & 10. With the new set of downs, the Chiefs drove down the field and scored a touchdown right before halftime, changing the dynamic of the game.

Another rule proposal could affect the Broncos in 2025. Proposed by the Green Bay Packers, this amendment would effectively ban the “Brotherly Shove” that the Philadelphia Eagles have perfected. The Broncos have to travel to Philadelphia next season, and this potential rule change could make it so the Eagles don’t have an automatic first down in any short-yardage situation.

The final proposed rule that could have major effects on the game was proposed by Philadelphia in an effort to make the regular season overtime rules the exact same as the postseason overtime rules. Both teams would get the chance to possess the ball in overtime, no matter what happens on the opening drive.

The Broncos played just one overtime game in 2024, a 30-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, but this rule wouldn’t have affected that game, as both teams had possession of the ball at least two times in that game. The last time this current overtime rule affected Denver in a negative way was in Week 11 of the 2022 season in which the Raiders scored on the opening drive of overtime to beat the Broncos 22-16.

Other proposed rules relate to roster size, game ball preparation, scouting credentials and unrestricted free agent negotiations. All of the rules proposed Wednesday are here.

The Annual League Meeting will take place on March 30, where ownership will talk about and possibly vote on the proposed rules.