Overtime Rules Need an Overhaul: Part 1

The Chiefs lost on Sunday to the Broncos because of a coin toss. Okay, that's a simplified explanation. I actually don't truly believe that. However, I do believe that the current overtime system is in need of a complete overhaul.

Everybody knows that the overtime system is flawed. Instead of reaching for proactive solutions, it seems that everyone is willing to throw their hands up in the air and say "well, it's the best that we can do!" No, it is not. Overtimes determine the outcomes of football games; they determine winners and losers. We can't settle for second-best. In Sunday's game, Denver won the coin toss and marched down the field, laid up, and kicked a field goal to win the game. The Chiefs, who fought long and hard all game to earn the right to play in this overtime, did not have an opportunity to rebut.

Teams go into overtime because they both played equally well in regulation time. Reason should stand that both teams should receive equal opportunity to win the game. Instead, overtime gives a considerable advantage to one team over another based on pure probability--the 50% probability of winning a coin toss. They might as well award the winning points to the winner of a rock/paper/scissors match. Those who argue that good teams should be able to shut an offense down if they want to win games are really reaching. You can't convince me that a team has a better shot to score points on defense than they do on offense, I don't care how good that defense may be. Offenses have always been in the driver's seat. Good pitching is also a fundamental requirement of a great baseball team, but when a good pitcher gives up a home run, his offense is still given the opportunity to rebut.

NFL games, right now, are determined by coin toss. Every fan knows this, even if they like the current overtime system. If you don't believe me, visit your local sports bar on Sunday and watch the drama surrounding an overtime coin toss, a simple flip of a coin. The coin has nothing to do with playing football; yet, an entire NFL viewing audience recognizes, to varying levels, that the outcome has a far-reaching effect. You could hear the jubilation at Invesco when Denver won the toss; you could imagine that Chiefs' fans were screaming and cussing at their TV's when Kansas City lost the toss. It's insane for a coin toss to be that meaningful; to evoke that much reaction. I don't like the amount of drama surrounding a coin toss. Drama should be reserved for playing football, not for a human being throwing a coin up in the air.

Can you imagine if baseball went into extra innings and didn't let both sides bat to win the game? Can you imagine if basketball went into sudden death and the first team that scored won? NFL Football is one of the only sports in which a team can lose in extended play without having a chance to score on offense. Even hockey, a sudden death sport, at least allows a physical tiebreaker to determine first possession. The NFL insists that their system isn't flawed and that it works. Nonsense! If this were true, then why is football the only sport where there is major debate over the legitimacy of its overtime system? If it's broke, fix it!

Stay tuned for Part II, where I will discuss the unreasonable logic that is allowing this faulty overtime system to trudge on.