Since 2010, teams that won the overtime coin flip in the postseason are 10-2, with seven of those 10 wins coming on touchdowns scored on the first possession.
Calls for both teams to possess the ball at least once in overtime intensified after the Chiefs’ thrilling 42-36 shootout victory over the Bills in a divisional playoff classic in January. Kansas City won the coin toss and scored a touchdown on its first possession to win the game, preventing quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills offense from touching the ball. Allen passed for 329 yards and four TDs in the contest.
The original proposal involved giving both teams a chance to possess the ball in overtime in the regular season as well. But there wasn’t enough support for that and a compromise was reached to impact only postseason games.
“There was some concern expressed about adding too much to the number of plays, injury risk,” McCaskey said. “And I think the thinking was that in the regular season, that kind of thing could be overcome. But we didn’t want that to be a way that some team’s season ended.”