The 49ers will face increased scrutiny after some players revealed they were unaware of new overtime regulations.
For many years, overtime ended when one team scored. The regulation was then changed to allow both teams to have possession of the ball unless the first team on offense scored a touchdown. In that situation, the game would end on that TD, as it did when New England beat Atlanta 34-28 in Super Bowl 51.
However, the most recent rule change requires that in the postseason, both teams have possession of the ball even if the first offensive team scores a touchdown. NFL playoff overtime now more closely resembles collegiate overtime, in which teams alternate possessions. In college, teams frequently prefer to have the ball second since it allows them to better plan their drive.
The 49ers took the ball in overtime and drove for a field goal, but fell 25-22 when Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City 75 yards the other way for the winning touchdown on Sunday night. If they had realized three points wouldn’t suffice, they could have gone for a touchdown in those situation.
This time, Kansas City had the advantage, so the Chiefs had no option but to go for it on fourth-and-one from their own 34, trailing three. They converted and eventually reached the end zone via a three-yard touchdown toss from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman.
/bnn/media/media_files/f1863f522e74655f0621d32a74d96304c2c73a11ee039b6fccbc0fb2dfb18e27.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
“That’s something we discussed,” San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Neither of us has a lot of experience with it.”
However, some 49ers players said they were unaware of the restriction. “I wasn’t even aware of the new playoff overtime rule, so it was a surprise to me,” San Francisco defensive tackle Arik Armstead said. “I had no idea what was going on with that.”
Shanahan stated that he discussed potential overtime scenarios with his analytics staff prior to Sunday’s game. That topic does not appear to have spread to at least some of his players.
“Do you know what? Kyle Juszczyk, a fullback and Harvard graduate, remarked, “I had no idea the playoff rules were different in overtime.” “I’m assuming you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win.” I suppose that’s not the case. I’m not really sure of the plan there. “We hadn’t discussed it, no.”
In contrast, Kansas City players indicated they were aware of the new regulations.
“We discussed for two weeks about new overtime rules,” defensive tackle Chris Jones stated. “Give the ball to your opponent. “If we score, we’ll go for the two-point conversion.”
Safety Justin Reid stated that the Chiefs had discussions regarding the rule change dating back to training camp. “We’ve spoken about it all year,” Reid explained. “During training camp, we discussed how the rules differed between the regular season and the playoffs. Every week during the playoffs, we discussed the overtime rule.
Andy Reid, the Chiefs’ head coach, stated that even with careful planning and awareness of the regulations, it’s unclear which technique to use.
