Why are XFL games shorter than NFL games? Numbers show massive difference in time taken for reviews

The XFL is back as for the fans as an alternative to the NFL, which just finished the 2022 season with Super Bowl LVII.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dany Garcia, the owners of the XFL, are creating ways to make football a much faster-paced game. One such way is the amount of time spent doing booth reviews.

According to sportscaster and writer for the XFL, Josh Lewin, the league is much more expedient in booth reviews than the NFL.

Lewin said:

The average time for a review was 2:19 in the 2022 NFL season, compared to 43 seconds on average in Week 1 of the XFL. (Dean Blandino and the transparency from the Van Nuys Command Center continues to be a touchstone of the league. Also, “Van Nuys Command Center” is a great band name. Certainly, better than “Starship.”)

As for the length of the game itself, the average game time from kickoff to the clock hitting triple-zero was two hours and 49 minutes. Whereas, the average time of an NFL game reportedly takes three hours and 12 minutes to finish.

Another way the league is making football games faster are the penalties. In the 2022 NFL season, the average number of flags thrown was 13.28 per game, compared to 10.75 in Week 1 of XFL 2023. This is a difference of 2.53 flags. Johnson and Garcia's overtime rules for the league will also shorten the game.

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Why do the OT rules in the XFL make the game faster than the NFL version of OT?

The league took some notes from both college football and the NHL for its overtime rules. Each team will be given three tries at a two-point conversion from their opponent's five-yard line. Whichever team has the most conversions following those three tries will win the game.

If the score stays tied after three attempts, then the teams will go back and forth in single possessions until someone wins. This rule change was created to both lessen the game and make the conclusion of the game more fun for the fans.

In the NFL, teams play an extra quarter and could end up in a tie in the regular season. For the playoffs, the game cannot end in a tie. Both teams will get at least one possession, even if the team that had the ball first scored a touchdown. We'll see if fans get an overtime game in the XFL this season.