Although much of the discussion of the Chiefs-Bills playoff game focused on the play of quarterbacks Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in the final minutes, much, if not more, of the conversation focused on how the game ended. , which involved the league. overtime rules.
Under NFL overtime rules, if the team that wins the coin toss chooses to receive the ball and scores a touchdown on their opening drive, they win. If they make a field goal, the other team gets the ball and has a chance to answer or win the game. That’s a simple distillation, but essentially, that’s the point of contention.
It was the previous situation in that scenario that sparked controversy and led to countless calls for the league to change the current overtime rules, which have been in place since 2010. The Chiefs won 42-36 in overtime after scoring on their possession. starting, which means Josh Allen, who completed 73 percent of his passes while throwing for 329 yards and four touchdowns, didn’t get a chance for more overtime heroics.
Allen led Buffalo on a six-play, 75-yard drive to give the Bills a 36-33 lead with 13 seconds left before Mahomes drove 44 yards in the next three plays to set up the game-tying field goal. game for Harrison Butker, which he did. The Chiefs then got the ball first in overtime and scored quickly, ending the game and not giving Allen a chance.
It was the second straight postseason loss to Kansas City for Allen and the Bills since they lost in last year’s AFC title game. But even with all the calls to change the rules, Allen wasn’t bitter and he wasn’t among the group clamoring for change.
“The rules are what they are and I can’t complain. If it was the other way around, we’d be celebrating,” Allen said after the game. “We didn’t make enough plays tonight.”
The game was the 11th playoff game to go to overtime since the current format was adopted in 2010 and in that span, the teams that won the coin toss won the game on the first possession seven times, with Kansas City the latest addition to that. ready.
While Allen didn’t complain about the rules and acknowledged the current landscape, Andy Reid suggested it’s worth considering changing the rules, which has been his position since at least 2019 when the Chiefs previously defended him.
“I wouldn’t object. That’s kind of hard. It was great for us last night, but is it great for the game, which is the most important thing we should all be keeping in mind?” Reid said monday. “For things to be equal, you probably need to be able to hit both offenses, both defenses.”
“We should never allow a football game to be determined by a coin,” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said after the loss. then the game comes down to a 50-50 chance of tossing a coin. Like, this isn’t Vegas. Like, we’re not at the casino table. Like, this is not a 50-50 bet and there is not even a 50-50 bet. And it’s crazy that that was the result.”
Whether Reid and the Chiefs will advocate as openly for a rule change this time remains to be seen, though another team might. And if they do, it looks like there will be a fair amount of debate on both sides.