Bob Costas isn’t a fan of NBA teams shooting so many threes. Now, the legendary broadcaster is letting it be known he isn’t exactly a fan of the NFL overtime rules either.
On The Rich Eisen Show Thursday, host Rich Eisen pointed out that the last time he heard from Costas was during Monday Night Football earlier this week. The New York Jets defeated the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime, which Costas seemingly complained about in his text messages with Eisen.
“The NFL’s overtime rule, as the ref is tossing the coin and explaining it, remains an idiocy,” Costas explained. “You score on the first possession, if you score a touchdown, the game is over. And this is the same rule in the postseason? It’s gonna bite them in the Super Bowl eventually. It almost did in the Bengals-Rams Super Bowl. They almost went to overtime with that ridiculous rule in place and it’s so easily correctable.”
Costas is correct in his assertion that the overtime rules do seem a bit “ridiculous,” but he forgot one thing. Yes, 2022’s Super Bowl LVI nearly went into overtime, but it was the AFC Divisional Round matchup in that same year’s playoffs that caused the NFL to change the overtime rules in the postseason.
The NFL owners approved a modified overtime rule ensuring possession for both teams in playoff games ahead of last season. This came following Kansas City’s 42-36 win over Buffalo in which Bills quarterback Josh Allen was unable to touch the ball because the Chiefs marched down the field and scored.
Overtime rules in the postseason consist of as many 15-minute periods as are necessary until there is a winner, instead of the single 10-minute overtime period in the regular season. Both teams will now get at least one possession, even if the team that has the first possession scores a touchdown.
A couple of years ago, Costas’ point would have made more sense. To be fair, the rules he railed against are the ones that are still in place during the regular season. And if Buffalo had scored a touchdown on the opening drive of overtime on MNF, the game would’ve been over.
Hopefully, Costas will be pleased to find out the NFL has eliminated the possibility of that hypothetical pile-up come Super Bowl time.
[Fox Sports, The Rich Eisen Show]
