Chiefs vs. Patriots: The 6 most frustrating moments for Kansas City
By Drew Brooks
After a heartbreaking loss, the Kansas City Chiefs will be watching Super Bowl 53 from the couch, and they have plenty of reasons to blame.
The Kansas City Chiefs fell just short of a trip to the Super Bowl because they were unable to beat the New England Patriots in a heartbreaking loss. After watching Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes make one spectacular throw after another during the regular season and the postseason, we will have to wait at least another year to see him play in the big game.
It was a good season for the Chiefs—actually, a truly great season. We got to see the franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes put his name into the record books by throwing for 50-touchdowns and over 5,000-yards in a single season. We also got to see the Chiefs win their first home playoff game since 1994 when Joe Montana was under center. The future for the Chiefs ‘organization is incredibly bright behind Patrick Mahomes.
But this Chiefs loss is incredibly painful, at least for the moment. This loss hurts because of how it happened. There are countless reasons to blame for this loss. The fact that the Chiefs offense failed to score in the entire first half, or that the defense could not stop the Pats on third down whatsoever. There’s a lot of reasons to go around, but here are the five biggest points of frustration for the Chiefs from a heartbreaking AFC Championship Game.
1. THE COIN TOSS
One key reason the Chiefs lost was the coin toss. After playing 60 minutes of football, the Chiefs’ season came down to a single coin toss to see who would get the ball to start overtime. After Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense played their hearts out for 60 minutes, the flip of a coin determined whether or not they would step foot on the field again or watch from the sidelines.
Clearly, the NFL’s overtime rules must be re-examined. No team should fight tooth and nail just to have their season ended by chance. Under the current rules, the team that receives the ball first gets a chance to win the game by scoring a touchdown. Accordingly, the team that wins the toss always elects to receive the ball—who wouldn’t want a cheap chance to win the game in a single drive?
No matter what happens, the other team’s offense must helplessly sit on the sideline watching, hoping, and praying that their defense can get a stop. The Chiefs were the team that lost the coin toss and had no chance to prove themselves. Because of a simple coin toss, Mahomes never got a chance to lead the Chiefs downfield and score again.
Overtime certainly seems to be less of a chance for both teams to win the game and more like a chance for one team to win the coin toss and consequently the game. The NFL needs to change the rules of overtime so that both teams get a true chance to win the game rather than leave it up to the flip of a coin.