Super Bowl LI was a game for the ages; Tom Brady and Bill Belichick got their fifth ring, and it was the first world championship that went into overtime. No one can deny the greatness of Tom Brady’s ability as a quarterback, and all that’s left for both him and coach Belichick are their busts in Canton, OH. But now that the pomp and circumstance has faded in the days since the game and parade, attention needs to be focused on something that has been discussed yet again when it comes to NFL rules. Once again, fans have voiced their displeasure when it comes to the overtime rules in the playoffs. Much like the outcry from the NFC Championship game from 2009, social media was set ablaze immediately after the game and the days since.
NFL has the worse OT rules in all of sports. Both teams should have a chance to score a TD.
— Jonathan (@jonathan_dlf2) February 6, 2017
OT rules in the NFL are the worst. Both teams should touch the ball in overtime. No coin flip should weigh that heavy in outcome. @hardwina
— Judson Richards (@JudsonRichrds) February 6, 2017
NFL OT rules need to change. Can't have the NFL MVP sitting on the bench without touching the ball once and lose the Super Bowl
— Matt Sottile (@MSottileTV) February 6, 2017
Now, the NFL is far from perfect, but let’s be honest here, the league is in the entertainment business, which means at the end of the day, their main objective is the make a profit. Yes, they do what they can to give the fans “quality” product and games, but it doesn’t always turn out that way. Going back to the aforementioned 2009 NFC Title game, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings with a field goal in overtime to advance to Super Bowl XLIV. Despite Minnesota managing to overcome five turnovers to tie the game, they never had a chance to get the ball in overtime. This was when overtime games were truly “sudden death”.
Soon after, the league amended the post-regulation rule in which if the team that won the coin-toss only managed to score a field goal on that ensuing drive, the opposing team would then have a shot at scoring as well. Going back to last Sunday, Atlanta had ample opportunity to win the game, but they fell apart on both sides of the ball. Everyone has their opinion of what transpired (see above tweets), but it sounds more like sour grapes and not facts. Let’s be truthful here, any game where Team A gives up 31 unanswered points to Team B while failing to score a single point in the last quarter of game usually are bound to lose. This is exactly what happened to the Atlanta Falcons.
https://twitter.com/TyMcEachern/status/828607067661410304
To quote Stephen A. Smith, “Fair is a place where you judge pigs”; all the fans that are mad and think that Atlanta got hosed need to pause. A coin toss didn’t decide the outcome of the game. If the Falcons’ had made the right adjustments when it mattered, the game probably wouldn’t have went into overtime at all; they could’ve at least stopped one of New England’s two-point conversions. If anything, overtime should go back to true sudden death where first team to score wins the game. So enough with rule changes and amendments; if you think both teams deserve a shot at scoring in overtime, then maybe (in the case of Atlanta) step up on defense and seize the opportunity to score.
