It’s time: NFL needs to change overtime rules this offseason
The weekend of NFL football ended with one of the best games that anyone has seen in a long time. It was intense back and forth action between the Bills and the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes vs Josh Allen. Josh Allen kept coming against all odds in a ruckus stadium in Kanas City.
Yet in the end, the Bills give up two big plays in under 13 seconds to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs kick a game-tying field goal. That brought us to overtime, something every fan has complained about in the NFL.
You knew the game was over the second the Chiefs won the overtime coin toss. Mahomes and the Chiefs had the momentum from the improbable circumstances in which they found themselves with how they tied the game up. As soon as they won that coin toss, I knew Josh Allen wasn’t going to get a chance to respond.
Therein lies the problem. The NFL has created the best sports league in the country, yet they have some of the worst overtime rules. In the regular season, we don’t bat an eye (unless your team is the one getting screwed over). But in the playoffs, we collectively come together and complain about how absurd these overtime rules truly are.
For those who don’t know, the overtime rules go as follows: if the team who wins the coin toss scores a touchdown on the opening drive, the game is over. If they don’t score a touchdown, the first team to score a field goal or touchdown will win the game.
The issue is that in the playoffs, it always seems that the team that wins the coin toss always marches down the field and scores a touchdown, leaving the other team’s offense on the sideline, being nothing more but a spectator.
Chiefs fans know all too well about this. In the 2018–2019 season, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots went to overtime against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Patriots won the coin toss, and the rest was history. The same uproar was had the day after that game. “Patrick Mahomes never had a chance to win that game, these overtime rules need to be changed!” Yet they never were.
It’s such a dumb rule. I hate to be the guy that says college football overtime is better, but if I had to compare the two, I’d have to say college football overtime is better. I think starting from the 25-yard line is a bit extreme, I would move it to the 50-yard line, but that’s just me.
Bills vs Chiefs was an incredible game. It might’ve even started a rivalry, much like the Patriots and Colts. But, the overtime puts a dark cloud over it. I think if it was another last-second field goal to win it, we’d all have been much more satisfied. But because we went to overtime and Josh Allen never got to sniff the football, it makes that amazing game seem a little less great.
I would say something like this would have to happen in the Super Bowl for the NFL to change the rules, but it already has. Once again, Tom Brady was involved. In the famous 28–3 game, Super Bowl 51 in Houston. Brady leads the Patriots back from being down 28–3 at halftime and forces overtime. Patriots have all the momentum, win the coin toss, and the rest is history.
Perhaps that one gets overlooked because of how incredible the comeback was. And also how incredibly the Falcons choked that game away. But when you look at it, it still stands; the Falcons should’ve been able to get a chance to respond in overtime.
Who knows, maybe I’ll be thoroughly surprised this offseason when the NFL owners come together. Maybe they’ll change the overtime rules for the better so the fans never have to wonder “what if?” But I’m not counting on it.
