Patrick Mahomes Says Chiefs Had Clear Plan If They’d Won Super Bowl Overtime Coin Flip

The NFL’s new playoff overtime rules have been a major point of discussion after the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 25—22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, which couldn’t be settled in regulation. 

Some 49ers players admitted they didn’t know the league’s new rules for overtime periods in the postseason. San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan explained why his team elected to receive the ball after winning the coin toss, contending that he wanted a chance to win on the third possession if the teams’ traded scores to open the extra period.

But Chiefs star quarterback—and Super Bowl LVIII MVP—Patrick Mahomes provided an interesting comment on the overtime rule from the Kansas City side. Mahomes said during a postgame interview on ESPN’s NFL Primetime that the Chiefs intended to kick off if they had won the toss.

Patrick Mahomes says on ESPN that the Chiefs would have deferred/kicked if they won the toss in overtime. So they’d know what they needed.

“We changed the rules, we can execute them both ways. I don’t know how they’re going to change it this time.”

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) February 12, 2024

“Yeah we were going to kick if we got it. They let us know what they were going to do, so we can go for it on that fourth down,” Mahomes said.

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The Chiefs wanted the advantage of knowing exactly how many points they needed when they took possession of the ball. Reid confirmed as much in his Monday morning press conference.

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid told reporters this morning that they would've kicked off had they won the coin toss in overtime.

So San Francisco gave them what they wanted. https://t.co/tJq4gYVe5I

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 12, 2024

The Chiefs were on the same page and had a clear plan in place in the event of an overtime period. The 49ers seemingly were not and did not.

In the end, the 49ers settled for a field goal to take a brief 22–19 lead, but Mecole Hardman’s 3-yard touchdown catch from Mahomes minutes later clinched the title for Kansas City.