NFL overtime rules questioned again after Chiefs defeat Bills

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) -- As the Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime and marched down the field to defeat the Buffalo Bills 42-36, Bills quarterback Josh Allen sat on the sideline. It's a feeling his divisional round quarterback-counterpart Patrick Mahomes knows well.

In the 2018 AFC Championship, the Chiefs lost to the New England Patriots the same way, with Mahomes on the sideline watching Tom Brady march the length of the field and score a touchdown, ending the game on the first possession of overtime.

“Yeah, I mean it worked out well for us this time. Whenever you got two teams going back and forth like you’re going, it kind of stinks that you don’t get to see the other guy go, but I’ll take the win this time," Mahomes said. "Obviously, it hurt me last time. All you can do is play the way the rules are explained, and that’s what we did today.”

The NFL's overtime rules have been debated among NFL analysts and fans for a long time, and after the incredible four quarters of football that the Chiefs and Bills played, ending it in one possession in overtime has resurfaced calls for a rules change.

After their overtime loss in 2019, the Chiefs actually submitted a proposal to change the rule and give both teams an opportunity to score, regardless of whether the team that won the toss scored a touchdown on their first drive. The proposal was voted on by team owners and was not adopted.

“The rules are what they are. I can’t complain about that because if it was the other way around, we’d be celebrating too," Allen said. "It is what it is at this point. We just didn’t make enough plays tonight.”

A coin toss can be the deciding factor in the outcome of a football game, but without the league adopting a change, it is a result that fans will continue to see and debate about. Mahomes and the Chiefs will now host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship on Sunday.