LAS VEGAS — No one could immediately make heads or tails of the 49ers’ decision after winning the overtime coin toss in Super Bowl 2024.
After winning the coin toss with a tails call for the second time in the game, the 49ers elected to receive even though rarely used NFL playoff overtime rules dictate that both teams must touch the ball.
That is different than the regular season when the game is over if the team that receives the kickoff scores a touchdown.
In the overtime situation, starting on defense seems to make sense because then a team would know how many points it needs to tie or win on its turn.
And the curious decision came back to bite the 49ers when their field goal was answered by a touchdown from the Chiefs in a 25-22 victory.
CBS analyst Tony Romo theorized during the broadcast that the only logical reason would be that the 49ers’ defense was tired after defending the length of the field in the two-minute drill against Patrick Mahomes and holding the Chiefs to the game-tying field goal.
Other analysts shared Romo’s opinion on Twitter.
If 49ers head coach Kyle Shanhan was playing chess instead of checkers, maybe he was thinking ahead to getting the ball on the third possession, assuming that the score might still be tied after one possession apiece and he would have the advantage for sudden death.
The only other overtime game in Super Bowl history ended on the first possession, when Tom Brady engineered a 25-point second-half comeback for the Patriots against the Falcons and James White scored his third touchdown of the game to end overtime.
Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons in that game.
The rule was changed after a famous back-and-forth playoff game between the Chiefs and Bills, when quarterback Josh Allen left the field with 13 seconds remaining after throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass and never got a chance to touch the ball again.
Mahomes set up the tying field goal at the end of regulation and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to start overtime.