The San Francisco 49ers opting to take the ball first in overtime of Super Bowl 58 has already become one of the most controversial opinions in the history of the big game.
With the adjusted overtime rules in the NFL playoffs, both teams get a chance to possess the ball after regulation ends if the score is tied rather than the first team with possession winning the game with a touchdown.
San Francisco chose to take the ball first rather than second, which set the Chiefs up for a game-winning touchdown drive when the 49ers were only able to kick a field goal on the first OT possession.
NFL Films showed Mahomes’ shocked face when 49ers linebacker Fred Warner revealed what San Francisco wanted to do after it won the coin toss, and Mahomes expressed how everyone was feeling while watching the game at home.
Well, everyone who knew the new rules, anyway.
.@PatrickMahomes had to keep that poker face during the overtime coin toss 🪙 #SBLVIII
(via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/ZGS6eNtMO4
— NFL (@NFL) February 20, 2024
While it’s all water under the bridge now, it’s very much still a point of debate as to whether or not the 49ers cost themselves the game by taking the ball first in overtime.
We’ll never know what would’ve happened in the alternate scenario, as the Chiefs took hold of that second OT possession and never looked back.
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