Palm Beach, FLA (WGR 550) - Let’s be honest, it’s the "Josh Allen Rule."
While it may not actually have that official name, the new playoff overtime rule passed, and has been implemented by the NFL’s Competition Committee at the Annual League Meetings on Tuesday. While it was discussed for several years, the motion was fast-tracked by the fact that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen never got to touch the ball in the team’s 42-36 overtime playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round this past season.
Rich McKay, head of the committee, was specifically asked how much that game played a role in the decision to pass the new rule, which now states that each team is guaranteed, at least, one possession in overtime. If the teams are still tied after that possession, it then becomes a true sudden-death with the next score of any type winning.
McKay said that game was a big part of the decision-making process.
“In the Buffalo game this year, it was the greatest 20, 30 minutes of football that I’ve ever seen. Ever,” he said. “To think that it ended that way definitely brought up the idea of, ‘Hey, is this equitable? Does this work for everybody?' I have no question that started the discussion.”
McKay pointed out that the rule was also considered for the regular season, but was shut down pretty quickly. So it will only apply to postseason contests.
Although this overtime change has been discussed and debated for several years, it really ramped up amongst NFL fans, media, and the league after Buffalo's loss to the Chiefs. Oftentimes, in the immediate aftermath and heat of the moment, people want change. But as time goes on, that subsides a bit.
McKay said that wasn’t the case here, as it remained a hot topic.
“What typically happens in these is they tend to lose momentum as you get further away from the game. That did not happen in this instance,” he said.
Allen and the Bills aren’t the first team to lose a playoff overtime by not touching the ball. This discussion really started to get to the forefront when the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes were in the exact same situation in the AFC Championship Game in 2018, losing to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, 37-31. In that game, New England scored a touchdown on their first drive of overtime.
That was Mahomes' MVP season, and many fans and people in the league felt then they were cheated and it wasn’t fair, or right.
Then the same thing happened to Allen and the Bills in Kansas City in January.
While Allen doesn’t have an MVP or a Super Bowl ring under his belt yet, he’s viewed by many now to be in the same stratosphere as Mahomes.
Make no mistake about it. If it happened to some average quarterbacks without the elite status and star power of Mahomes, and then Allen just three years later, it may still be a discussion, but would not be nearly as important to get the change made as quickly as the league did in this case. Typically, these things move slower than an Aaron Rodgers decision on his future.
This is about stars. It’s about the NFL and their TV partners not being able to showcase one of the best young quarterbacks, in a quarterback league, in the most pivotal moment of his team’s season.
While the Chiefs were driving down to score the game-winning touchdown in overtime, there were numerous shots of Allen sitting on the bench, just watching. Helpless.
You have to believe the league - and CBS in this TV case - had the exact same feeling.
So they did what they could to help themselves. They passed the "Josh Allen Rule."
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