The Buffalo Bills lost the coin flip in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs. The game ended shortly after.
The Chiefs won, 42-36, and the Bills offense never touched the ball in overtime.
For better or worse, those are the rules.
And it appears to be leaning much more toward “or worse” above all else.
According to NFL Research via NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport, there have been 11 playoff games with the current rules in place. Of those 11, the ledger massively favorites one team: The coin-toss winner.
Per their findings, the team that has won that coin toss has a 10-1 overall record in playoff overtime games. The most recent was the Chiefs over the Bills.
Following Buffalo’s loss after incredible comebacks by both teams, many are calling for the rules to again be changed.
Previously the NFL had even tougher OT rules. Back in the day, whoever scored first, period, won. Even if it’s a field goal.
The NFL went on to amend that rule. Now only a touchdown ends the game immediately, but it’s hard to argue that things don’t need to be changed at some point in the near future.
Interestingly, the research concludes that these rules in the regular season are actually much more even. Under the current system, there have been 163 overtime games in the NFL.
The coin-toss winner only has a 52.8 winning percent in those contests.
What one could point to is the improved talent, especially on offense and at quarterback, when it comes to playoff teams.