An NFL Coach Used To Need 2 Winning Challenges For A Third. Now It Takes 1.

The red flag has a budget. Every NFL team is permitted a minimum of two challenges a game, thrown by the head coach or his pregame challenge designee, and the third one has to be earned.

What changed in 2024

Under the old rule, a team got a third challenge only if both of its first two were successful. At the Annual League Meeting in March 2024 the owners approved a Detroit Lions proposal to lower that bar. Rule 15, Section 1, Article 1(f) now says a team will be permitted a third challenge if it is successful on at least one of its challenges. A fourth challenge will not be permitted.

A team will be permitted a third challenge if it is successful on at least one of its challenges.

What a challenge costs

• 01Each challenge requires an available team timeout. A team out of timeouts, or out of challenges, may not challenge.
• 02An unsuccessful challenge is charged as a team timeout.
• 03A challenge counts as successful if any reviewable aspect of the play is changed.

When a team cannot challenge

Rule 15, Section 1, Article 2 reserves some reviews for the Replay Official or the league's officiating department alone: plays that begin after the two-minute warning of each half, anything in overtime, scoring plays, Try attempts, and on-field rulings such as interceptions, fumbles recovered by the opponent, and a failed fourth-down attempt.