The NFL reportedly is taking closer look at the XFL’s quirky kickoff rule

When the Chiefs defeated the 49ers earlier this month in Allegiant Stadium, a number of Super Bowl record were set or tied.

That included a new record for the fewest combined kickoff return yards: zero.

There were 13 kickoffs in the Chiefs’ victory and each was a touchback. There also wasn’t a kickoff return in the Chiefs’ 17-10 win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game. And in the Chiefs’ Divisional playoff win at Buffalo, the teams combined for two returns.

The lack of kickoff returns has been a topic for the NFL’s Competition Committee.

NFL Media reporter Judy Battista reported the committee has “discussed at length the XFL kickoff. A source says there could be a proposal for a March vote on a version of the XFL model as a way to address the kickoff — too few returns this season.”

If adopted, this would be a radical change for the NFL. Here is how it’s done in the XFL: The kicker tees up the ball at his own 30-yard line, while his 10 teammates are lined up at the opponent’s 35-yard line. Ten players from the receiving team line up on their own 30-yard line, while the returner is behind them.

That’s 20 players lined up 5 yards apart.

The current format in the NFL, as CBS Sports noted, has the kicking team line up at its 35-yard line, with eight returning team members within 15 yards. Double-team blocks are prohibited.

Here is an example of an XFL kickoff, and no one other than the kicker and returner is allowed to move until the ball is fielded.