San Francisco 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan has been taking a lot of heat over the last two days because of his decision to take the ball to start the overtime period in the Super Bowl. Many believe that he should have kicked off and played defense. Shanahan’s rationale was that if both teams matched scores on their mandatory first possessions, then the 49ers would be getting the ball, with the distinct advantage of needing simply to kick a field goal to win the game. That is precisely the type of advantage that the NFL tried to eliminate when they changed the sudden death overtime rules a few years ago. There is a definite advantage in having the ball in sudden death, and that third possession would have given the 49ers the ball in “sudden death”.
Too many Monday morning quarterbacks. I agree with your analysis completely. And truthfully, the Chiefs just played a better game overall.