NFL coaches have it all wrong when it comes to overtime – or why Sean McDermott’s final big choice might’ve cost him his job

CNN ^ | 1/20/2026 | Harry Enten

[sopo]

Sean McDermott’s final big decision as the Buffalo Bills’ head coach was the wrong one – and it may have cost him his job.

McDermott’s Bills won the coin toss in Saturday’s overtime period against the Denver Broncos and decided to go on defense first and offense second.

It backfired when neither team scored on their first possession, and Denver scored in the third possession of the overtime. The Broncos had two possessions on offense, while the Bills had only one.

Coaches like McDermott need to learn that under the new overtime rules the logical decision is to receive first, not second.

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TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: football; mcdermott; overtime; plaoff

[sopo]

9-7, one tie in 17 instances of receiving first in OT.Seems coach's own judgment rather the metric is a better choice. Still it's not like having the last at bat in baseball.

[bigdaddy45]

I disagree with the authors analysis. I’d rather have the ball second. You’re getting the ball either way, and if the other team doesn’t score you now have a chance to win.

[V_TWIN]

Buffalo was living on borrowed time before the Denver game anyway.....they should have lost to Jacksonville and only won that one by the thinnest of margins.

[volare737]

I agree, with all things being equal. But the bottom line is the intangible of the coach’s confidence in his offense vs. his defense.

[glennaro]

... and you know that if the first team doesn’t score, all you need is a FG.

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

It really comes down to how much do you trust your defense.

The Buffalo defense has been suspect, and while they held on Denver's first possession in OT, they couldn't expect it to happen twice (and it didn't).

Then it's up to your offense to match or exceed what your opponent scores on their first possession. Buffalo was doing just fine in OT until the Catch/INT.

This is similar to college rules (except they don't start on the opponents 25 yard line, and it isn't timed). In virtually every college OT, whoever wins the coin toss chooses to defend first.

[BipolarBob]

The writer is just putting up words to get paid for an article. It doesn’t have to be true or make sense.

[dfwgator]

Depends on how much faith you have in your defense.

If you defer and get a three and out, you’ll probably only have to go 30 yards to kick the winning FG.

If you take the ball, even if you score, the other team knows that they have to do. They might even decide to go for 2, if they score.

I still think deferring is usually the right thing to do.

[Dave911]

Not as bad and the Bear’s coach decision not to kick a field goal on 4th down in their first possession. Lost them the game, never would have been an overtime. They would have been up by 3 at the end of regulation.

[dfwgator]

For the playoffs, I would play one 15 minute quarter. And if the game is still tied, then go to the regular overtime rules.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

... and you know that if the first team doesn’t score, all you need is a FG.

I think that is really the key point. Otherwise, sure - you'd rather have two chances to chose to the opponent's one.

[Texas Eagle]

Don’t recognize the name. Where did Enten play? Where did he coach?

[dfwgator]

That’s why I was not a fan of giving the other team a chance, because it too heavily favored the team deferring. In most cases, the team that got the ball first, did not score on the first drive.

That’s why for the playoffs I advocate just going ahead and playing one full 15-minute quarter. Then all this stuff goes away. It becomes a “mini-game”.

[CodeToad]

Odds are on the second possession a field goal will be made for the win. I would rather receive first, stop the other guy, then have that field goal odds in my favor on the third possession.

[T.B. Yoits]

Heads - kneel on right knee. Tails - kneel on left knee.

[pas]

Madden.

[Mouton]

Ironic they won the jax game with the dumb decision by Jax to take a 4th down shot a making two plus yards inside the ten and forgo the chip shot FG.

[woodbutcher1963]

I never heard of this guy before. I do not agree with his opinion. IMHO(and I am an armchair QB) McDermott’s decision was correct.

His wrong decision was just prior to the end of the first half. Trying to get a first down instead of running out the clock. They were getting the ball at the beginning of the third quarter. Going into the half tied was correct.
By turning over the ball in your own end and a easy three point kick cost them the game.

McDermott should have been fired 2-3 years ago when they lost to the Chiefs the first time and his bone head decisions. The guy should NOT be a head coach.

[dfwgator]

Or how about this?

In the playoffs, if the game is tied at the end of the fourth, just extend the 4th quarter by say, ten minutes, and then go to overtime if it’s still tied. The idea is to reduce the number of overtimes in the first place, during the playoffs.

[V_TWIN]

Actually the decision to go for it on fourth was early in the game. Yeah they basically gave up 3 points by not kicking but later in the game the kicker missed 2 FGs......that was the difference.