Kansas City Chiefs to propose overtime rule change to NFL
By Jalon Dodson
The Kansas City Chiefs are apparently still reeling from their AFC Championship Game loss against the New England Patriots, in which one overtime possession decided the game.
The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the New England Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship Game, in what was the former’s first AFC Championship in over two decades. Rallying back against quarterback Tom Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes did everything he could to save his defense and pull out a win. His performance would eventually lead to the Chiefs tying the game, which would force overtime.
The current overtime rules favor offensive-minded teams. It punishes defenses in that, if a team is forced to play on the defensive side of the ball in overtime, it could very likely mean the end of the game. That proved true for the AFC Championship Game, as the Chiefs’ defense was nothing to be proud of. The run game completely ate up the front seven of the Chiefs, and there was nothing the defense could have done to stop them.
If the offensive team that won the coin toss scores, the game is over. If you have two offensive powerhouses with lackluster defenses, the game literally comes down to a coin toss which should not be the case. The Chiefs seem to think so as well.
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The proposed rule change would give both teams a chance to possess the ball offensively, which would favor the Chiefs who have one of the top offenses in the NFL, and possibly of all time.
There really is no downside to having the rule, as both teams would get a chance to win the game. It would add more competition instead of leaving the game to come down to a simple coin toss.
According to a statement by general manager Brett Veach on Pro Football Talk Live, here is what is being proposed:
"Head coach Andy Reid is “working on [a potential rule change]. I think everybody wants a chance for guys to do what they do. I don’t really see the downside of having that. Especially when you have a player like Pat Mahomes. It would have been a lot of fun. I think people if they weren’t already tuned in for a great game, would have turned on that overtime.”"
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Veach is right, too. Mahomes blew up the league last year with 50 touchdowns, ultimately winning the league’s highest seasonal award, the Most Valuable Player award. Of course, he would have rather had a Lombardi Trophy and a ring to go with it, but those lingering words that echo in our ears, ‘there’s always next season’. Hopefully, the NFL sees some sense in Veach and Reid’s words and discusses the potential proposal to change the overtime rules.