Bills OT Rule Change Proposal is Unique
INDIANAPOLIS — We don't know all the details yet, but the Buffalo Bills confirmed on Tuesday that they have proposed an overtime rules change for the postseason that doesn't necessarily guarantee each team a possession but doesn't limit the amount of possessions either. And it definitely doesn't involve sudden death.
"We definitely put our stamp on one," general manager Brandon Beane confessed to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Ours is going to be more, without getting into detail, instead of one possession and then another possession, is the time. You know, similar to basketball. You play five minutes of basketball, both teams get it. You know, baseball, there's the top half and the bottom half [of an inning].
"So a time limit, and we're talking about the postseason only to play it out. And that way, both teams will definitely have a chance and maybe even more than one possession."
But if there's a time limit, one team can conceivably control the ball the entire time and score as time expires.
At any rate, it sounds different than the more basic approach of each team guaranteed at least one possession.
The Bills were eliminated from the playoffs in January with a horrific overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in which they never had a chance to possess the ball because the Chiefs drove for a touchdown after winning the coin toss and electing to receive the kickoff.
The result spoiled one of the all-time great playoff performances in league history as Bills quarterback Josh Allen (27-for-37, 329 yards, 4 TDs passes, 11 carries for 68 yards) wasn't able to get his hands on the ball after the Chiefs forced the extra session by kicking a field goal as time expired.
In the end, Buffalo's loss underscored a growing discontent among fans and NFL personnel alike about the league's overtime rules, in which the only way the team that kicks off can get possession is by holding its opponent to less than a touchdown.
To be clear, the Bills want the new rule implemented for the postseason only.
Player safety is the reason.
"It's a 17-game season," Beane said. "I personally don't think ties in the regular season are as big of a deal. But in the postseason, you've worked them long, you play a 17-game season, you've been working since April or May, everything on the line, [and then] a coin toss or here or there [may decide it].
I just think, `let's play it out, a certain amount of time.' I don't know that that'll be the final result in March at the owners meetings, but I think there's going to be some good proposals, and hopefully it at least comes to the point where both teams get an opportunity."
Added coach Sean McDermott: "I think, experiencing what we experienced overall, there's a better way out there. And when you go through experiences like that and you experience those things firsthand in particular, you want to evolve the game."
Like Beane, McDermott wouldn't reveal the exact plan.
Whether the league like the Bills plan or not, expect some kind of change to overtime, at least for the playoffs.
Because even if the Bills weren't cheated that night in Kansas City, the fans sure were.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
