NFL chiefs have confirmed that the popular playoff overtime rules are heading for the regular season.
Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs forced a change to overtime after winning an epic AFC Divisional Round encounter against the Buffalo Bills in 2022 .
Bills superstar Josh Allen had his team winning 36-33 with 13 seconds left in regulation.
But Mahomes spearheaded a Chiefs revival and an eventual 42-36 overtime vitory.
Kansas City was given the ball thanks to the flip of a coin and Travis Kelce scored a touchdown that ended Buffalo’s Super Bowl dream.
Thanks to the former rules, Allen wasn’t given a chance to go down the field as the Chiefs scored a TD on their possession.
“When you have two teams going back and forth, it stinks when you don’t get to see the other guy go,” Mahomes said.
“But all you can do is play the rules the way the rules are explained, and that’s what we did.”
“When it’s grim, be the grim reaper,” added head coach Andy Reid.
Owners got together and introduced a new rule that saw both teams get a possession in overtime.
It would have given the Bills a chance to go down the field and score a touchdown of their own to continue the game and potentially rewrite history.
That rule has now been extended to regular season games, per multiple reports on Tuesday.
There were talks over extending the period to 15 minutes but that aspect of the proposal was not approved.
The only difference compared to the postseason is that if the score is level after 10 minutes the game will result in a tie — postseason games, of course, play until there is a clear winner.
As part of the same meeting, team owners agreed to extend the use of replay assist for 2025.
But the Green Bay Packers‘ proposal to ban the controversial ‘Tush Push’ play perfected by the world champions Philadelphia Eagles has been kicked down the road.
The move is sure to bring plenty of debate as ESPN claims Bills head coach Sean McDermott had a ‘heated’ discussion with Eagles GM Howie Roseman on Sunday.
“My position hasn’t really changed at all. I feel where I’m most concerned is even though there’s not significant data out there to this point, my biggest concern is that of the health and safety of the players first and foremost,” he said ahead of the meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
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“It’s two things: added force for one and the pasture of the players being asked to execute that play. That’s where my concern comes in.”
“It’s weak,” an unnamed team executive told ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler regarding the proposal. “It’s punishing a team who became excellent at executing the play.
“In 2022, when Philadelphia was the only team doing it, there was a concern that it made the game less compelling because fourth-and-short was no longer in doubt.
“Then other teams copied it, and they can’t do it as well. It reeks of jealousy.”
In an attempt to see more returns, touchbacks have been moved to the 35-yard line as the NFL continues to tweak kickoffs.
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