Josh Allen Makes Case For More 'Fair' Overtime System During NFL Honors
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- A few weeks have passed since the Buffalo Bills' season ended following one of the most incredible football games that's ever been played. The rest of the country and the NFL has moved on, but the pain in Buffalo will likely stick around for a long while.
That's why Bills quarterback Josh Allen made sure to take a moment on Thursday night to express a commonly held belief in the Buffalo area right now about the NFL's current overtime system.
When NFL Honors host Keegan-Michael Key took a seat next to Allen for one joke set-up, the quarterback delivered a scripted yet sincere line.
"This is so much fun," Key said. "A show like this, you just want it to go on and on and on and on and on. Am I right, Josh Allen?"
Allen then butted in: "Or, you just end it in a way that makes sense, is fair, and gives everyone an equal opportunity to win."
Allen then turned to the camera and shrugged.
As tends to be the case when a playoff game ends after the first possession of overtime, the rules and the system have come into question a bit. Of course, just like the Bills did, the Bengals lost the coin toss the following week in Kansas City. The Bengals, though, were able to intercept a Patrick Mahomes pass and then drive for the winning score, thus overcoming the challenge of kicking off in overtime.
The Bills also didn't send a squib kick down the field after taking a lead with 13 seconds left, and proceeded to play soft defense while allowing 44 yards on two quick plays to allow the Chiefs to tie the game before the end of regulation. That same Bills defense also surrendered 75 yards on eight plays in the overtime, leaving Matt Milano on Travis Kelce while allowing the game-ending touchdown.
Clearly, a whole lot more than the rules worked against the Bills that night in Missouri. There's also a question of when the "fairness" might end if the team that loses the coin toss is guaranteed an overtime possession. If the coin toss-winning team scores a second time, would the coin toss-losing team be guaranteed a second possession to try to match that score, as well? When does that end? There's no simple answer, outside of doing what the Bengals did in the AFC Championship Game -- play defense, play offense, win the game.
Nevertheless, just like the Chiefs and Mahomes felt following their 2018 home playoff loss to the Patriots, and just like the Falcons might have felt after Super Bowl LI, the lack of a possession in overtime will leave the Bills, their fans and their plays wondering "what if?" for some time.
