The NFL is implementing significant modifications to its kickoff regulations with hopes of enhancing player safety and injecting more excitement into the game’s atmosphere this season.

During the inaugural week of regular-season games, the results have begun to show promise.

In the fourth quarter of the game against the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals return specialist DeeJay Dallas made headlines by returning a kickoff 96 yards for the very first touchdown of this new “dynamic kickoff” segment.

While many teams opted to kick the ball into the end zone, granting the receiving team possession starting at the 30-yard-line, the strong winds in Buffalo may have played a role in Dallas’s chance to make history.

The NFL introduced these new rules as a countermeasure to the record-low kickoff return rate witnessed during the 2023 campaign.

In his fifth season in the league, Dallas has transitioned to the Cardinals from the Seattle Seahawks, where he spent four years prior.

Despite returning both kickoffs and punts during his time with the Seahawks, Dallas had yet to return any for a touchdown.