The new postseason overtime rules took effect in Super Bowl LVIII during the second-ever big game to head into the extra period, and several players on the San Francisco 49ers were unaware of the updates.
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Previously, the team that started with the ball in overtime would win if they scored a touchdown. If they kicked a field goal, the game then became "sudden death." However, with the new rules, each team is guaranteed a possession — touchdown or not — unless the opening drive results in safety.
Players including 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk offered comments about not knowing about the new overtime rules.
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"You know what? I didn't even realize the playoff rules were different in overtime," Juszczyk said. "I assume you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win.
"I guess that's not the case. I don't totally know the strategy there. We hadn't talked about it, no."
49ers defensive lineman Eric Armstead added, "I didn't even know about the new playoff overtime rule, so it was a surprise to me. I didn't even really know what was going on in terms of that."
Juszczyk and Armstead also noted that while plenty of overtime possibilities were discussed before the game, a specific strategy wasn't discussed leading up to the game.
Down 10-3 at halftime, the Chiefs scored 10 points in the third quarter to take the 13-10 lead.
Then, Jauan Jennings caught a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy, but the extra point was blocked — which proved critical because it made the lead just 16-13.
To round out regulation, the Chiefs kicked two field goals and the 49ers kicked one. If the 49ers' extra point had been made, the score would've been 20-16 instead of 19-16 when the Chiefs got the ball back with less than two minutes to go, meaning they would've needed a touchdown to win in regulation.
Instead, the game went to overtime. The 49ers won the coin toss, elected to receive, drove down the field and kicked a field goal. Then, the Chiefs drove down the field in over seven minutes and scored a touchdown to win.
While at least some 49ers players didn't know the rules, the Chiefs were seemingly prepared for quite a while.
"We've talked about it all year," head coach Andy Reid said. "We talked about it in training camp about how the rules were different in regular season versus the playoffs. Every week of the playoffs we talked about the overtime rule."
Defensive tackle Chris Jones and safety Justin Reid echoed that. Jones said it was discussed weeks ago, and Reid mentioned that they covered some of it in training camp.
"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.
Now, the Chiefs are three-time Super Bowl champions with Reid at the helm. They've won three of their last five, including back-to-back titles.
