Now the Lower 48 may finally be catching up.

Among the tweaks to the N.F.L. rules this season were several to extra points. The one that got the most attention is that the kicks will be attempted from the 15-yard line to make them a little more difficult.

Less noticed was a change to the safety rules on extra points and 2-point conversions. A safety is now possible for either team and will be worth 1 point. Rule 11-3-2-c states, “If the try results in what would ordinarily be a safety against either team, one point is awarded to the opponent.”

In the past in the N.F.L., if an extra point was blocked, the ball was declared dead if a defender got hold of it. Under the new rules, he can try to return it, possibly all the way for a touchdown, which would be worth 2 points.

Perhaps a defensive player recovers the ball in the field of play, and while returning it he retreats into the end zone and is pulled down there. That will be a 1-point safety for the kicking team.

This has happened, though rarely, in the college game, notably in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, when an Oregon extra point was blocked and a Kansas State player was tackled with the ball in the end zone. Oregon was awarded a point.