The overtime rule change proposal is already getting pushback, but it’s coming from some members of the Indianapolis Colts.
On Sunday, it was reported that the Indianapolis Colts submitted a proposal to change the structure of overtime so that each team receives a possession.
This is a result of the epic AFC Divisional game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs that ended in overtime without Josh Allen ever touching the ball.
A similar situation happened in 2019 when it was Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs that lost the AFC Championship game in overtime without ever possessing the ball. Kansas City proposed a rule change and it didn’t even make it to the voting stage.
Maybe this time around things will be different. However, before the proposal has even reached the owners’ table, it has received some pushback from players. Not just any players, Colts players, the franchise that submitted the proposal.
Me too @ZiggySmalls_ ! Step up or you’re not good enough! If defense wins championships then they gotta step up! Something we gotta get right! https://t.co/t1E2IvQQA2
— Darius Shaquille Leonard (@dsleon45) February 28, 2022
Zaire Franklin and Darius Leonard aren’t fans of Colts OT proposal
Indy’s linebacker, Zaire Franklin, made the initial statement that he likes the overtime format as it is. Darius Leonard agreed and so did fellow linebacker Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks, who replied to Franklin’s tweet saying, “you’re not alone.”
Leonard laid out the case to keep the current structure, arguing that it’s simply on the defense to get a stop. If the defense can’t step up then the team doesn’t deserve to win.
That’s the exact sentiment you can expect to hear from prideful defenders and it’s a fair argument. After all, football is a team game so the defense and offense are responsible for helping each other out.
The only problem, and common counterargument, is that the current overtime structure gives too much power to a coin flip.
While it is true defenses should be able to make big stops, these kinds of overtime games usually have two defenses that can’t stop anything. So essentially, whichever offense wins the toss typically wins the game.
https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1485674487425155076?s=21
That is why there’s an argument for change. Defenses shouldn’t be absolved for folding in the clutch, but it’s reasonable to ask if it’s fair that only one team has to play defense.
It’s a question that will continue to be asked until the format is changed. That may not happen anytime soon. Like Franklin, Leonard, and Wagner, a lot of the owners like the current overtime structure just the way it is.
Ranking 7 quarterbacks that could start Week 1 for Colts
The NFL has become a league that requires an elite-level quarterback to make it to the Super Bowl. Which current NFL quarterback should start for Colts?