NFL Will Consider Yet Another Proposal To Change Overtime Rules
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The push to change the rules for overtime in the NFL continues.
Though the Chiefs' bid to guarantee a possession to both teams failed following their 2018 AFC Championship Game loss to New England, another proposal has been made. This time, it's the Indianapolis Colts putting forth the proposal to the competition committee.
NFL.com's Judy Battista reported the news, noting that the proposal would apply to both the regular season and the postseason.
The Colts lost two games in 2021 in overtime, first when the Ravens drove for a touchdown drive in Week 5. The second OT loss involved both the Titans and Colts possessing the ball twice, though, with Indianapolis going three-and-out on its first possession and with Carson Wentz throwing an interception on the second possession.
Neither Colts loss was the centerpiece of the perceived inequity in overtime, though, as that moment came in the divisional round playoff meeting between the Bills and Chiefs. That game saw 25 points scored in the final two minutes of regulation, followed by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs driving for a game-winning touchdown drive in overtime, with Buffalo not possessing the ball in the extra frame.
While the viewing public certainly would have enjoyed seeing Josh Allen and Co. mount a response drive, a guaranteed second possession may not achieve the "fairness" that some may believe it would. In this particular case, for example, if the Bills responded with a touchdown drive of their own, thus leading to a sudden death situation, then the Chiefs could end the game with a field goal drive on their second possession. In that scenario, the Bills did not get a guaranteed possession to match the Chiefs' scoring drive, ultimately creating the same perceived inequity that exist under the current rules. And continuing to "guarantee" possessions to an offense every time the defense allowed a score kind of undermines the basis of the sport.
In the Bills' case, blowing a three-point lead with 13 seconds left in regulation would have been the first step to avoiding any "unfairness" in overtime. Keeping the Chiefs out of the end zone in that overtime would have been step two. (The Bills also lost an overtime game to the Buccaneers in the regular season, going three-and-out on their possession before allowing a 58-yard catch-and-run by Breshad Perriman.)
The Bengals proved a week later that losing the coin toss in overtime on the road is not a death sentence, as they intercepted Mahomes near midfield on the opening drive of OT and drove deep into Kansas City territory to set up the game-winning field goal.
The reality is that there may not be a "fair" solution to all parties. Such is life, and such is football.
When the Chiefs made the proposal three years ago, it got little support, and the owners never even voted on it. We'll find out in the upcoming weeks if the sentiment has changed to make a significant change in OT.
