In my Divisional Round preview blog, I made fun of everybody that beats the "divisional weekend is the best football weekend of the season" drum to a pulp because it's such a cliche, but this truly was one of the best football weekends of all time. All four games came down to the wire, three underdogs won on the road, and of course, there were plenty of controversial decisions that we can all second guess for the rest of time!
I don't even need to get into the ref show in Tampa; I'm here to talk about what every publication on earth has touched on in the last 24ish hours: NFL overtime. This one's different because I swear and have the vocabulary of an 8th grader. ICYMI: Bills @ Chiefs was an instant classic. The Chiefs won 42-36 in overtime. I didn't think I'd ever see a crazier final 2:00 than Saints-49ers in the 2011 Divisional Round, but I think it's safe to say this game topped it. As someone with two live bets on Bills ML, I'm pretty sure I had multiple heart attacks.
I guess the Bills decided that Wide Right, three additional consecutive Super Bowl losses, and starting Johnson over Flutie in the Music City Miracle weren't enough for their storied history of playoff heartbreak. They just had to let Patrick Mahomes get into field goal range with only 13 seconds left on the clock.
I thought kicking deep and not shaving a few seconds off the clock with a squib was a big mistake, HUGE. So fucking dumb by Buffalo. I've played enough Madden to know that it's not impossible to get into field goal range with 13 seconds and three timeouts.
Would you rather give your opponent the ball on the 25 with 13 seconds left or like the 31 with 9 seconds where they realistically have one shot at getting in field goal range?
After prairie doggin' throughout all the lead changes, I missed the coin toss but knew whoever won it would win the game based on how gassed the defenses were and how in sync both QBs were.
Even though my Patriots won Super Bowl LI and the 2018 AFC Championship Game partly by the current OT rules, I'm not a fan of them. I can admit they're unfair, and there's a better solution, somewhere. The Chiefs tried to change the rules after that AFCCG, but their attempts failed at the league meetings. Some hardos will say shit like "if you can't make a stop, you don't deserve to win," but it's not that simple. In today's NFL, nearly every rule and penalty favors the offense. All defensive penalties except for offsides and dead-ball late hits after the ball hits the ground result in an automatic first down. If the NFL's current OT rules applied in baseball and the away team scored first in extra innings, the home team wouldn't get a chance to bat because they should've just gotten the opposing hitters out if they wanted to win! Congratulations to the 1986 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox!! I'm more than willing to concede regular-season OT. I think 10 minutes is way too short and leads to more ties, but those aren't games that are making or breaking legacies. I can deal with those rules in that spot. But careers are made in the postseason; that's why Eli Manning will make the HOF despite a .500 record and no seasons where he was even close to a top 5 QB. With how much the game is centered around scoring points, both offenses should get a chance to possess the ball. I've seen heads on Twitter saying that people are only complaining because the Chiefs won, but again, I've benefitted from this rule, and even I think it's fucked. Plus, it's not like I love the Bills. I wish both teams lost, but I don't know how you can watch that game and be satisfied with only one QB touching the ball in OT? People are only talking about it now because it's timely the day after the game. At least when offenses/defenses get back-to-back possession to end the 1st half and start the 2nd half, they get the halftime break. In situations like last night, the Bills gave up the game-tying field goal, then are right back on the field. It's just not a fair system, straight up and down. It's so funny to me how there are a million tie-breaking (11) procedures for playoff berths before a coin toss, but once the playoffs start, if a winner isn't determined in regulation, a coin toss is the perfect way to decide history.
Those numbers are staggering. Teams that win the OT coin toss are 10-1 in the playoffs, and 7 of those 10 winners scored a touchdown on their opening drive. Of course, the Saints were the only ones on the wrong side of the coin toss.
I've had an idea for years that would be a perfect solution to this unfair rule, but unfortunately, nobody listens to me (yet).
Here is how my proposed adjustment to Playoff Overtime would work:
What you do i̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶h̶o̶m̶e̶,̶ ̶c̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶l̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶d̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ ̶f̶l̶o̶o̶r̶,̶ ̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶h̶u̶n̶g̶r̶y̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶l̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶e̶y̶ to fix the current state of overtime in the National Football League playoffs? You got a better plan? Sound off in the comments!
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