Bills quarterback Josh Allen did not voice his frustration with the NFL's overtime rules despite losing to the Chiefs, 42–36, in overtime on Sunday night.
Allen, who threw 329 yards and four touchdowns and added a team-high 68 rushing yards, said, instead, "The rules are what they are, and I can't complain about that 'cause if it was the other way around, we'd be celebrating, too. So, it is what it is at this point. We didn't make enough plays tonight.”
The Bills and Chiefs combined to score 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation.
Allen completed his fourth touchdown pass of the game to wide receiver Gabriel Davis with only 13 seconds to play in regulation. But Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes needed just two plays to drive 44 yards and set-up an eventual game-tying field goal.
Allen would lose the coin toss to open the subsequent overtime and not touch the football in the extra session, setting off a wave of reaction online.
Kansas City was on the other side of the same situation in the 2017 AFC championship, when Tom Brady and the Patriots scored on the first possession of overtime and advanced to Super Bowl LIII.
Following that loss, the Chiefs proposed a change to the NFL's overtime rules, wanting, per their proposal, to, among other details, “allow both teams the opportunity to possess the ball at least one time in overtime, even if the first team to possess the ball in overtime scores a touchdown.”
Allen said after the loss Sunday that watching Kansas City's game-winning overtime drive will serve as a learning experience for future contests.
“It was tough to be in that moment,” he said. “Again, I have a lot of respect for Pat, he throws the winning touchdown, and he comes straight over and finds me. To be in that situation and to do that, that was pretty cool of him to do that. Obviously, it sucks the way it happened. We wanted to win that game. We had our opportunities. (I was) taking it all in and holding on to the feeling and making sure that we don't feel like this again, like I said back-to-back years in the same spot. It's tough to take in, but it's part of the game.”
The Bills are still looking to make their first Super Bowl appearance since 1993.
The Chiefs will host the AFC championship next Sunday, with kickoff for their matchup vs. the Bengals set for 3 p.m. ET.
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