Super Bowl LVIII came down to the wire. Sixty minutes of action couldnât separate the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers and so the Super Bowl went to overtime.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the 49ersâ decision to take first possession in overtime has come under scrutiny given San Franciscoâs defeat.
The 49ers won the coin toss and chose to have first possession. With it, they scored a field goal. Then it was the Kansas City Chiefsâ turn. A 14-play, 75-yard drive ensued and culminated in a three-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman to crown the Chiefs and give them their third Super Bowl title in five seasons.
Although San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said he had discussed a possible overtime coin toss scenario before Super Bowl LVIII with his analytics team, a number of 49ers players have admitted that they werenât aware that overtime rules had been changed for playoffs games.
Previously, the team who had the first possession of overtime could win with a touchdown on the opening drive. However the new rule states that both teams are guaranteed at least one possession.
âYou know what? I didnât even realize the playoff rules were different in overtime,â 49ers full back Kyle Juszczyk told reporters. âI assume you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win.
âI guess thatâs not the case. I donât totally know the strategy there. We hadnât talked about it, no.â
San Francisco defensive lineman Arik Armstead admitted that he didnât know about the postseason overtime rules until they put them on the big screen at Allegiant Stadium.
âThey put it on the scoreboard, and everyone was like âOh, even if you score, they get a chance still,ââ Armstead told reporters, per ESPN.
Conversely, the Chiefs players explained that theyâd been talking about the rule change all year so were prepared for the big moment.
âWeâve talked about it all year,â Chiefs safety Justin Reid said, per ESPN.
âWe talked about it in training camp about how the rules were different in regular season versus the playoffs. Every week of the playoffs we talked about the overtime rule.â
Kansas City defensive lineman Chris Jones called the 49ers âcrazyâ for deciding to take the ball first, given the possible implications.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters after the victory that if he had won the coin toss, his team would have kicked the ball off to begin overtime, a decision they came to after consultation with the teamâs analytics department.
âIt can go either way, but the one thing it does, it gives you an opportunity to see what youâve got to do and they came down and scored three points, youâve either got to score three or youâve got to get a touchdown,â Reid explained.
âThe one thing that people didnât realize is that clock keeps going. So we were down low there but youâre fixing to start a new quarter, so the game wasnât over in a tie. That wasnât happening, not in the playoffs. And so we would, we would keep playing.
âAnd itâs a unique rule. It doesnât get used very often. But I think it was great for the National Football League. It was great for the viewers of the National Football League. I mean, they got an extra quarter of football and people love this thing. Itâs a great sport and people love watching it, especially with the competition level so high.â
What are the overtime rules in the postseason?
According to NFL rules for the playoffs, both teams are guaranteed an opportunity to possess the ball at least once, even if the team receiving the kickoff scores a touchdown. The game can only end sooner if the team that kicks off the period forces a safety on the receiving teamâs initial possession.
Teams play a 15-minute period. Once both teams have had an opportunity to possess the ball, whichever team takes the lead next will win the game.
The rule was changed following a game in the 2022 postseason when the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 42-36 by winning the coin toss and scoring a touchdown with the first possession, ending the match with the Bills never getting an opportunity to reply.
The ending of the AFC divisional round matchup between the Chiefs and the Bills shined a light on the rule, with some fans declaring it the worst in sports.
Previously, the team that received the opening kickoff in overtime would win the game if they scored a touchdown on their first possession.
The NFLâs overtime rules now are more similar those of college football, which many had argued were fairer.