The San Francisco 49ers‘ decision to kick the ball off in overtime has turned into a standard Monday morning quarterback discussion.
However, it seems like the Kansas City Chiefs were thrilled with the Niners right away on Sunday night.
The Niners won the overtime coin toss, but different rules that were implemented this season apparently led to some confusion.
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Travis Kelce, #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs, celebrates in the locker room after winning Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)
San Francisco players have gotten heat for not knowing the rules, but even Mecole Hardman admitted that he didn’t even realize his touchdown had won them the Super Bowl.
But Travis Kelce was well aware of the rules and practically celebrated the Niners’ decision right in front of them.
“I am not trying to harp on the guy . . . but when they said we want to receive, and the ref looked at Fred [Warner[ and said, ‘Are you sure? Sure you want to receive?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I want to receive. I want the ball,’” Kelce said on his “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Jason.
“You win the coin toss, that’s what you get. You get the opportunity to have the advantage, and they handed it right over to us.”
Travis Kelce, #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs, reacts as he holds the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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The Chiefs have said they were discussing the new overtime rules as early as spring training, and they revamped the conversations during meetings leading up to the big game.
Meanwhile, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk admitted he “assume[d] you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win. I guess that’s not the case. I don’t totally know the strategy there. We hadn’t talked about it, no.”
Niners defensive end Arik Armstead also didn’t know the rules.
“I didn’t even know about the new playoff overtime rule, so it was a surprise to me,” he said, via ESPN. “I didn’t even really know what was going on in terms of that.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said the strategy was to have the third possession of overtime, which would then be sudden death.
Football: Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and Travis Kelce (87) in action, celebrate victory against San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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“If both teams matched and scored, we wanted to be the ones with the chance to go win it,” he said. “We got that field goal, so we were hoping to hold them to at least a field goal. If we did, we felt it was in our hands after.”
However, the Chiefs seemed to insinuate that there wouldn’t be a second possession, no matter what. If San Fran scored a touchdown on their first possession, the Chiefs would’ve went for a do-or-die two-point conversion, Chris Jones reportedly said.
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