Alexis Spier
The rules of overtime are simple. Both teams have the chance to possess the ball unless the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown. If the team that has the ball first scores a field goal, the other team still has a chance to match it or score a touchdown to win the game.
Looking at the overtime rules, it seems unfair. If the team with the ball first scores, the opposing team does not even get a chance with the ball. The game is over. Many players and coaches disagree, but Rick Gosselin, of Dallas Morning News, who’s covered the NFL for years, brings up an amazing point.
“There are three elements of football: offense, defense and special teams,” said Gosselin in an article from The Guardian. “Build a defense that can force a punt in overtime. Giving both teams a possession favors the offenses. If you want to go all in on offense, keep winning those coin tosses. If you want to win a championship, build a defense that can be as effective as your offense for 60 minutes and beyond.”
I agree with Gosselin. Football and any other sport is not defined by offense. Defense is just as important. If you want to win, of course you have to score, but you have to get the ball first.
Is the coin flip the biggest play of the game? Many Chiefs fans raged about what happened in overtime against the Bills. The Chiefs scored on the first possession, sending Josh Allen and his Bills home without even touching the ball.
“We Should never let a football game be determined from a coin,” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “Like, I think that’s the most craziest rule in sports. Like, you can fight your entire fight the whole game, and then the game comes down to a 50-50 chance of a coin toss. Like, this ain’t Vegas. Like, we’re not at the casino table. Like, this ain’t no 50-50 bet and there ain’t even no 50-50 bet. And it’s just crazy that that was the outcome.”
“Josh Allen didn’t even get a chance,” former quarterback Danny Kanell said, “and that’s why the NFL overtime is the worst overtime of any sport in the world.”
“NFL overtime rules are so trash,” wrote NBC Philadelphia sports reporter Taryn Hatcher. “Which is honestly an insult to trash.”
People have been posting all over the media new OT rules that would make it fair. One suggestion was to play another quarter, but only ten minutes. This is a good suggestion, because each team would possess the ball. However, the players would play an entire 70 minutes and they might not give their best performance due to exhaustion. It would also increase the likelihood of injuries.
The Baltimore Ravens proposed a rule as well. If Team A wins the coin flip, they choose where the ball is placed. Team B chooses to play offense or defense. First team to score, wins. I’ve read through a lot of proposals, and this one is the most fair and most exciting.
A lot of teams went home feeling sick they did not have a chance with the ball in overtime. They want the rules to change, but people like Rick Gosselin believe an offense is only as strong as its defense. Should the rules stay the same, or should we consider the Baltimore Raven’s proposal.