The Buffalo Bills lost a heartbreaking playoff matchup to the Kansas City Chiefs that ended their season much sooner than they wanted. The loss also stirred up controversy surrounding the NFL's overtime rules.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen is still a bit hung up on the loss, and recently commented on the game as we edge closer to the new season.
“Up to that point, I think I was 9-0 throughout the season. In our production meeting [with CBS], it was jinxed, and I was 0-for-2 in that game,” Allen said of the coin toss on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast.
“They brought up that stat, you’re 9-0. . . . I go 0-2 on coin tosses that game. I switched it up, I went heads first and then I went tails at the end, and it was obviously flip-flopped.”
When asked which hurt more, the Wyoming product said losing the coin toss hurt more than losing the game itself.
Even if the 26-year-old wanted to forget about the game and move on, people simply won't let him.
“People still come up to me and talk about it. That’s the game people talk about,” Allen said. “To be a part of it is great, but to be on the losing end of it is not so great. It doesn’t make me feel any better when someone comes up and says, ‘That was the greatest game I’ve ever seen.’ It’s like, we lost.”
The game against the Chiefs was a tightly contested game. Allen threw two touchdowns in the final two minutes to wide receiver Gabriel Davis, but it wasn't enough. The two teams exchanged the lead three times in the final two minutes.
The game went to overtime, where the Chiefs won the coin toss. The rest is history, as they say. Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City down the field and scored a touchdown, defeating the Bills without Allen and the Bills offense having touched the field.
This game created a ton of controversy surrounding the NFL's overtime rules. Many feel as if overtime playoff games aren't decided by skill or excellent coaching. Rather, they're being decided by which team wins the coin toss at the start of overtime.
Under the current playoff rules, 10 of the 12 teams that won a playoff game in overtime won the coin toss. Seven of those 10 teams won the game on opening-drive touchdowns, meaning their opponent's offense didn't see the field.
However, Allen didn't want to talk about the overtime rules immediately following the loss. "The rules are what they are and I can't complain," he told reporters. "If it was the other way around, we'd be celebrating. We didn't make enough plays tonight."
