Former NFL Quarterback and current St. Louis Battlehawks Quarterback A.J. McCarron believes the NFL could learn a thing or two from the XFL. Most notably, the former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback thinks the NFL could take pieces of the XFL’s extra point system. The current version of the XFL has eliminated the extra point and required teams to complete an additional play to score one, two or three more points.
“If you look at it, the NFL itself, a couple of years ago, changed the extra-point rule,” McCarron told TMZ Sports.
“They moved the extra point back because the percentages were almost 100 percent on making extra points, and so they wanted to figure out ways to make the game more interesting.”
In addition, McCarron believes the NFL could adopt the XFL’s stance on onside kicks. Instead of asking a team to perform an onside kick at the end of a tight game, XFL teams are asked to convert a play on fourth and fifteen yards to go. If the team converts the play, they keep the ball. If they are unable to convert the play, the defense picks it up on downs.
“I think that’s an option that they can easily implement into their game and people wouldn’t miss a beat with that,” McCarron said.
McCarron spent six years in the NFL, playing for the Bengals, Texans and Raiders. More recently, he has appeared on ESPN as a member of the network’s college football coverage crew. Following the 2022-2023 college football season, McCarron joined the St. Louis Battlehawks. In his first two games, he has completed 64.5% of his passes for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns. Heading into week three, the undefeated Battlehawks will travel to Washington, D.C. to battle the Defenders at Audi Field.
