Kyle Juszczyk of the San Francisco 49ers has stated that he was unaware of the NFL’s overtime regulations.
After Super Bowl 58 was tied, the game went into overtime. San Francisco won the toss and decided to receive the ball/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69406317/20131213_124915_vernontd2.0.jpeg?w=640&ssl=1)
The former NFL overtime playoff rules stated that if a team scored a touchdown after receiving the ball, the game was ended.
However, the new rules allow both teams to have the ball. Many analysts and pundits questioned why the 49ers decided to receive the ball.
Juszczyk told the media after the game, “I assumed you only wanted the ball since you scored a touchdown and won. I’m not entirely sure about the plan there.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan commented on the matter, saying, “None of us have a lot of experience with [the new overtime regulations].” But we went through all the stats and spoke with those guys. We simply believed it would be better.
“We wanted the ball third.” If both teams tied and scored, we wanted to be the ones with a chance to win. So we got that field goal, and we knew we had to restrict them to at least one field goal, and if we did, we thought we had the game in hand.”
The controversy around the decision will surely continue as the NFL enters the offseason.
