Does the NFL need to change the overtime rules in the playoffs? | You Pod to Win the Game

Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson and Frank Schwab discuss the overtime rules in the National Football League. More specifically, should the OT rules be adjusted for the playoffs? It was tough to see Buffalo’s Josh Allen not get a chance to touch the ball in overtime after playing such an incredible game. How can you make the OT rules better? Hear the full conversation on the You Pod to Win the Game podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.

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Video Transcript

CHARLES ROBINSON: When Brady and the Patriots had to walk off against the Chiefs, that sucked. I was like, I'm like, God, man. You're going to tell me you're not going to put the ball on Mahomes' hands? Seriously. This is-- and I remember thinking then, this has got to change. You can't do this in the postseason. I don't give a [BLEEP] if the regular season is what it is. You can't in the postseason go two quarterbacks are playing at this level and we're not going to let both of these guys touch the ball. This one, I just, I looked at-- they panned that shot to Josh Allen sitting on the bench.

And you're just like, this sucks, man. This is not how you want this to end. You don't want this guy-- that's it? You're going to just sit the guy on the bench? He's never going to touch-- now those are the rules. OK, it's the way it is. And hey, the Chiefs suffered this fate at the hands of Tom Brady. And it was a horrible feeling to never see the offense take the field. And they had to live with that. And you know what? It's now they get the other side of the coin. And now the Bills get to feel how the Chiefs felt.

But I really wish the NFL would look at this and go, that can't be-- in this moment, which is our greatest game ever, we wanted to take the coin flip out of it. And we did in terms of it just being because of the way it used to be. You get a coin flip, you kick a field goal.

FRANK SCHWAB: Yards and a field goal.

CHARLES ROBINSON: Yeah, kicking a field goal. But it still affects it. In a game like this, and somebody even tweeted at me like, yeah, it's too bad. This is one of the greatest games ever. It's too bad it's going to be decided by a coin flip. And I responded like, hey, the way it's going, yeah probably likely that that's actually going to be how this works out. It just sucks. I wish it was not a little bit beaten down by the fact that you would have liked to have seen these two-- not just two quarterbacks but two teams that really deserved both having the opportunity to take it to another frame and go at it.

And you make a boxing analogy. But when we get into games like these, people always say it's so cliche to lean on boxing. But I don't know what else you could ever compare this thing to. Not only just boxing, but it's like the end of "Rocky" movies where we sit and watch them literally just punching each other. There's no defense. They're just punching each other in the face for basically. And you're like, this isn't how this really is. But then you see a game like this and you're like, yeah, they're basically just punching each other in the face.

FRANK SCHWAB: Ward versus Gotti one. I mean, this is unbelievable. On the overtime rules, let me-- I don't disagree with the spirit of what you're saying in that it sucks that we never got to see Josh Allen get the ball in overtime. But you can't play forever. And if this game, let's say-- OK, Mahomes goes and scores, Allen goes and scores, Mahomes goes and scores. Does the game end then? Because Mahomes had two shots. Allen had one. It's got to end at some point. And I do think you play both sides.

Let me say this first of all. The college football overtime sucks. Don't please, God, never go to that. College football overtime is horrible. I hate it. I think it's fair in that it's both sides of the ball. You got to play defense too at some point. And the Bills have one job, keep them out of the end zone. Don't let them drive 75 yards for a touchdown.

CHARLES ROBINSON: You're right. There's not-- you've got to be a complete team. I agree with that.

FRANK SCHWAB: So I get what you're saying. And I agree with the spirit of it. But again, at some point, you've got to end the game because it could just go back and forth for 26 possessions. And you've had 13 versus 13. I mean, just it's a physical sport. You can't play forever. And so I think the rules are much better than they used to be where it was just like, get a field goal range, kick a field goal, and we're done. I think saying to the defense, hey, keep them out of the end zone. That's all you got to do. I think that's fair. I think it's reasonable.

And it sucks that Josh Allen never touched the ball just like it sucks Patrick Mahomes never touched the ball in the 2018 AFC Championship game. But I'm OK with it. I don't love it, but I see that there's no perfect solution. So I'm OK with it.

CHARLES ROBINSON: You could make an extra quarter. I mean, I know no one wants to hear that. But to be honest with you, and everyone's going to say injuries. And I completely understand the downside of having a fifth quarter of football. Totally get it. I'm just saying really the only probable fair solution is just to say, we're just going to have a whole other quarter and continue it off of whoever had-- so and honestly, I think there's an element of that changing the end of tie games too. Because the team that possesses the ball at the end of the time then takes that into you just roll into the next fifth quarter like it's a normal quarter.

Hey, you still got the ball. It's like going from the third to the fourth quarter.

FRANK SCHWAB: Interesting.

CHARLES ROBINSON: You maintain possession. Boom. Keep going. We're going to play another 15 minutes. And again, I know the downside of that. But that is the only way I see this ever being fair is just to say, we're going to tack on 15 minutes. And maybe a team then plays for a tie at the end or whatever. There's not the same kind of push forward or whatever. I don't know. That's just the only way I could see it ever being fair is just to credit them.

FRANK SCHWAB: I totally-- by the way, again, I totally agree with you. It sucks Josh Allen never touched the ball in overtime. It just does. I wish that game could've gone forever. But--

CHARLES ROBINSON: It's the only-- obviously, look. We're kicking a little dirt on both defenses. Whatever. But the truth is it's the only thing about this game that left knee feeling a little disappointed was just seeing him sitting on the bench and being like, man, that's right. I remember watching Mahomes sit there while Brady, and they just methodically pounded it down the field and then ran it in. And I'm like, God, I hate feeling that way. And now we've done it twice with two games that really were unbelievable playoff games. It sucks to see that happen a second time.

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