How the tables have turned for Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Three years after losing to the New England Patriots in overtime of the AFC Championship Game, 34-28, Kelce and his Chiefs are headed to their fourth straight AFC title game after an epic overtime win of their own over the Buffalo Bills.
After Kansas City came up short against New England following the 2018 season, the three-time All-Pro tight end said that the overtime rules were unfair. Under the exact same format this time around, Kelce caught the game-winning touchdown for the Chiefs over the Bills, denying Josh Allen and Buffalo a chance at possessing the ball in the extra session -- just as Patrick Mahomes, Kelce and Co. were at Arrowhead Stadium against the Patriots after Matthew Slater called heads.
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"It's a cool discussion to have," Kelce said on Felger & Mazz in January 2019 in regards to each team being guaranteed a possession in overtime. "I think it's a little bit more fair."
The NFL's current overtime rules allow for the team that first receives the ball to win if they score a touchdown, which is what New England did when Rex Burkhead plunged in for a game-winning score to send the Patriots to Super Bowl LIII. However, if the team which initially receives the ball only scores a field goal, they must kick off to the defensive team, and which point it becomes sudden death -- as it was prior to the rule change in 2010.
The Chiefs won the toss against the Bills, after Mahomes led the team into field goal range with just 13 seconds on the clock to tie the game in the first place, scoring eight plays and 75 yards later to advance to the AFC title game for a matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
New England Patriots
"I'm definitely in favor of that," Kelce told Felger & Mazz three years ago on amending the rule. "Being in that situation, really having no rebuttal, it's kind of tough."
There is definitely some merit to Kelce's thoughts on the overtime rule, a view which is shared by many football fans. But it will be interesting to hear his current thoughts on the rules after they favored Kansas City to cap off a wild divisional weekend across the NFL.