49ers Players ‘Didn’t Know’ New Overtime Rules In Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Fransisco 49ers 25-22 in only the second-ever Super Bowl to go to overtime. It was also the first playoff game under new overtime rules, which guaranteed both teams a chance with the ball.

While Kansas City had a strategy in place if the game went past regulation, many San Francisco players were uninformed on the new rules and didn’t have a correct sense of how to win the game in overtime.

“You know what? I didn’t even realize the playoff rules were different in overtime. I assume you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said after the game. “I guess that’s not the case. I don’t totally know the strategy there. We hadn’t talked about it, no.”

On Tuesday, San Fransisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said to the media that before the playoffs, he met with the team’s analytics department to lay out multiple overtime scenarios they could see in the future. Shanahan also added that he asked assistant coaches to refresh players on the rules after the end of regulation in the Super Bowl, but the message clearly wasn’t heard by all.

“We told everyone as we were waiting for the coin toss to review every one to make sure they’re sure before we go out,” Shanahan said. “So, we asked position coaches to do that. But I didn’t cover it in a meeting on the Super Bowl week. I don’t think that changes anything.”

NFL overtime periods changed in the postseason following the Chiefs’ 42-36 OT defeat over the Buffalo Bills in the 2021 playoffs. Rules previously didn’t ensure both teams would have a chance with the ball, the game ending if the first team with the ball scored a touchdown. Though the 49ers only managed a field goal with their overtime possession, they may not have known that the Chiefs still had a chance to win.

“I didn’t even know about the new playoff overtime rule, so it was a surprise to me,” San Fransisco defensive lineman Arik Armstead said after the loss. “I didn’t even really know what was going on in terms of that.”

Contrary to San Fransisco, the victorious Kansas City said they went through multiple meetings throughout the playoffs, highlighting what the new overtime format would look like.

“We’ve talked about it all year,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after the game. “We talked about it in training camp about how the rules were different in the regular season versus the playoffs. Every week of the playoffs we talked about the overtime rule.”

Their preparation seemed to pay off, and Kansas City walked away with their third Super Bowl in five years after the final Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman touchdown.

Though it worked out, the Chiefs said if the 49ers had scored a touchdown on their drive, the offense would have “gone for two” to seal up the win. It was the Chiefs who were part of the reason the overtime rules were changed, and they now benefit in the first game with the rules in place.

“We knew what our game plan was – had we won the coin toss, whether we want to defer or not, and what our plan was from there,” Reid said.