The Chiefs Want To Change the Rules Because of Their AFC Championship Loss
In addition to their complaints about an offsides call on Dee Ford that negated a Tom Brady interception and a questionable roughing the passer penalty against Chris Jones, the Kansas City Chiefs have another gripe with the AFC championship game Jan. 20.
The face of their franchise and league MVP Patrick Mahomes didn’t get to touch the ball in the overtime period as the New England Patriots scored a touchdown on their first possession to win 37-31.
That isn’t sitting well with the Chiefs. They want to change the overtime rules so that both teams have at least one offensive possession to prevent what happened in the AFC title game.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach appeared on NBC Sports’ “PFT Live” and said coach Andy Reid is working to get the NFL to change the rules of the overtime period.
“Coach is working on that,” Veach said. “I think everybody wants a chance for guys to do what they do. I don’t really see the downside of having that, especially when you have a player like Pat Mahomes. It would have been a lot of fun. I think people, if they weren’t already tuned in for a great game, would have turned on that overtime.”
One could argue that the players on defense get paid too and it was the Chiefs defense’s responsibility to, at the very least, hold the Patriots’ offense to a field goal.
But the way the current rules are set up, the game favors the offense, so whichever team won the coin toss had a sizable advantage in overtime.
The analytics bear that out: Before the Patriots even took their first snap in overtime, they had a 58 percent chance to win.
An NFL rule change requires the approval of 75 percent of the league’s owners. With the Chiefs on board, chairman Clark Hunt will need to convince 23 other owners for this rule to pass.
Another possible rule change that has popped up during the NFL combine is adding a “sky judge” to officiating crews.
This role would be to minimize the chances of clear and obvious mistakes going uncorrected, per ESPN. The impetus for this extra official is the missed pass interference at the end of the Los Angeles Rams-New Orleans Saints NFC championship game.
The CFL uses a sky judge who sits in the press box during games and advises on-field officials.
However, many questions remain as to the responsibilities of this proposed crew member.
Questions about sky judge: where does the league get them from? And do they only have a role during certain parts of the game? What categories of fouls could they be involved in?
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) March 1, 2019
The annual league meeting will take place March 24-27 in Phoenix. That is when the NFL Competition Committee will make recommendations to owners in regards to rule changes.
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