If Chiefs had won Super Bowl overtime coin-toss, here’s what they would’ve done
In the first playoff game with the NFL’s new overtime rule — each team gets a possession before the game becomes sudden death — the Chiefs lost the OT coin-toss during Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers.
But the outcome of that coin-toss Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium is what the Chiefs wanted. They kicked off because 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan elected to take the ball first in overtime.
The Chiefs answered a 49ers field goal with a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman for a 25-22 victory, giving the league back-to-back champions for the first time in nearly two decades.
The morning after the game, Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked what the Chiefs would have done had they won the coin-toss.
“That can go either way, so we would have kicked the ball off,” Reid said.
The Chiefs were asked their choice by officials on the sideline before the 49ers’ final snap in regulation. Reid told them they’d kick — and that decision, based on information provided by team’s statistical analysis coordinator, was made long in advance.
“We had it all mapped out and we were able to cover it with the guys,” Reid said.
During regular-season games, the Chiefs almost always choose to defer if they win the coin-toss. Reid likes getting the ball first to start the second half.
Reid also saw an advantage in playing defense first in the postseason overtime session.
“The one thing it does, it gives you an opportunity to see what you have to do,” Reid said. “It’s a unique rule. It doesn’t get used every often.”
And it’s a rule because of the Chiefs. In their 2021 Divisional Round victory over the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs won the overtime coin-toss and Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to end the game. Buffalo never got the ball, and the rule was changed.
Shanahan said after the game that he elected to take the ball because he wanted to have the third possession. If the teams had matched scores on their first drives, the next points would’ve won ... and the 49ers would have had first crack at that.
But after the Chiefs held the 49ers to a field goal, Mahomes excelled on Kansas City’s game-winning touchdown drive, completing all eight of his passes and rushing for 27 yards.
This story was originally published February 12, 2024 at 11:57 AM.