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Shaquille O’Neal Defends NFL Overtime Following Controversial Ending to Chiefs vs Bills: “The Rules Are the Rules, Don’t Change Them. They’re Not Gonna Change It Because of You, Man”

Published 01/27/2022, 2:00 PM EST

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Shaquille O’Neal had a critical take on many people complaining about the Buffalo Bills’ offense not getting the ball during overtime. It was surely a controversial take on the controversial end of the game. But the big Shaq did not shy away from expressing his candid opinions.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills locked horns throughout the game, but fate favored the hosts instead of the guests. The quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen showed no signs to back down. Both had their intentions to claim the AFC Conference spot.

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After an intense exchange between the two, the game ended in a 36-36 tie when Mahomes led his offense to a field goal position with just 13 seconds on the clock. The game couldn’t be more dramatic. However, the controversy began when the Chiefs won the OT toss and took possession of the ball.

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Following this, Patrick Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce in the last drive of the game for a touchdown, and as per the sudden death rules of overtime, the Chiefs advanced to the AFC Conference Championship Game.

After the game, the NFL community raised the question that Allen, who was certainly in his best shape that night, did not get the chance to retaliate.

Shaquille O’Neal supports the prevailing sudden death OT rules

Recently during The Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal stated, “Rules are rules. Yea all these people complaining, rules are rules, don’t change them. They’re not gonna change it because of you, man.”

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However, Shaq is not the first one to support this rule. There have been many analysts and former players who believe that the sudden death rule of overtime is the best option available to get a winner. They believe that if both sides were to give a chance in the end between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, the game would never have ended.

The NFL community has been divided into two. And it is believed that this debate is to persist for a long time until the NFL comes with a new rule to fix it. According to CBS Sport, there could be three possible ways to fix it: Firstly, there is a spot-and-choose rule, secondly a field goal gamble, and lastly, a simple proposal in which both the teams get the ball.

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However, as of now, the Chiefs have taken full advantage of the prevailing overtime rules and are headed to their fourth consecutive AFC Conference Championship Game. They will host the Cincinnati Bengals next. Who do you think will make the Super Bowl? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Sauvik Banerjee

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Sauvik Banerjee is currently an NFL writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in English and Economics from Lucknow University, Sauvik combined his love for NFL and passion for writing to work for team ES. Sauvik has functioned as a content marketing intern at Kyari Innovations and had a brief stint with Knocksense Lucknow.
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