Following the Buffalo Bills’ 42-36 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round, clearly the team defeated in overtime would be open to a rule change.
As things currently sit in the NFL, since the Chiefs scored a touchdown in the extra period on their first drive, the Bills did not get a chance to have the ball themselves. It was game, set, match.
Had Buffalo held KC to a field goal, they would have.
In the moment, Kansas City’s players were thankful for the rules since it benefitted them. Still, going forward, even Chiefs head coach Andy Reid can admit a change should probably come.
“[Changing the rules] I’m sure is something (the NFL) is going to look at again,” Reid said via Chiefs Wire. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it — it’s a hard thing. It was great for us last night, but is it great for the game which is the most important thing we should all be looking out for? To make things equal, it probably needs to be able to hit both offenses, both defenses.”
After the game from the Bills locker room, the mood was basically one of… what can they do about it? Nothing.
“The rules are what they are, and I can’t complain about that cause if it was the other way around, we’d be celebrating too,” quarterback Josh Allen said via video conference. “So, it is what it is at this point. We didn’t make enough plays tonight.”
In terms of a suggestion, one did come from Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane. He’s in favor of shifting things around, but just in the postseason.
“I would definitely love to see… it brought back to the table. I’m not saying I have the exact idea, but I think there’s some ways to do it,” Beane said.
The GM’s comments match a NFL study from earlier this week.
In the regular season, the coin-toss winner under the current rules have won around 52 percent of the time. In the playoffs, the coin-toss winner has a 10-1 record.
It remains to be seen if the NFL takes any action. Despite feelings in Buffalo this week and potentially for months to come, a change to overtime in OT was a proposed by the Chiefs themselves at the NFL owners meetings in 2019.
It was not passed or even brought to a vote at that point.
We’ll see if this Bills loss is the one that forces that league’s hand this spring.
Not that such a thing would change what has already happened…
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