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Multiple San Francisco 49ers players did not know the league's two-year-old postseason overtime rule until it was put into action in the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 OT win in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.
Lindsay Jones of The Ringer provided details:
"Multiple San Francisco players said after the game that they were not aware that the overtime rules are different in the playoffs than they are in the regular season, and strategy discussions over how to handle the overtime period did not occur as a team. Defensive lineman Arik Armstead said he learned the details of the postseason rule when it was shown on the Allegiant Stadium jumbotron during a TV timeout after regulation. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said he assumed the 49ers asked to receive when they won the toss because that's what you do in the regular season, when a touchdown wins the game. 'I guess that's not the case. I don't really know the strategy,' Juszczyk said."
The NFL installed a new postseason overtime rule before the 2022 season. Both teams now have a chance to get the ball unless the first team's possession ends in a defensive score. Before, the first team could end the game if it scored a touchdown.
On Sunday, the 49ers and Chiefs ended regulation tied at 19 apiece. San Francisco won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive. The 49ers' drive ended with a field goal. Kansas City then got the ball and marched 75 yards downfield for a three-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman Jr.
With the new rules, one could argue the 49ers would have been better off taking the ball second. For starters, they couldn't lose the game starting on defense no matter what happened. But more importantly, the 49ers would have started their drive knowing full well what they needed to do to win or keep the game going.
The Chiefs instead got that advantage and knew they needed a field goal to keep the game going or a touchdown to win. That certainly helped their automatic decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 34-yard line earlier in the drive. If they started with the ball and were faced with that same situation, it's certainly possible Kansas City could have punted.
Instead, the Chiefs marched down the field for their third Super Bowl in five years.
As for why 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made that decision, he explained postgame:
One ex-NFL coach told Mike Sando of The Athletic that Shanahan made a big mistake. And in regard to the theory that he was trying to rest his defense after the Chiefs had just tied the game on a 64-yard drive, the coach responded as follows:
"Maybe, but you can't give up the advantage. K.C. went for it on fourth down because they had to. Big mistake."
In the end, it does not appear the 49ers were wholly on the same page regarding OT mechanics and planning. As for the Chiefs, it appears overtime planning was done in the lead-in to the game.
"We talked through this for two weeks," defensive lineman Chris Jones told The Ringer. "How we was going to give the ball to the opponent; if they scored, we was going for two at the end of the game. We rehearsed it."
Ultimately, it's possible both teams' handlings of overtime swung a Super Bowl.
