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Originally Posted by pilight
OTOH the Chiefs had easily driven the length of the field to tie the game at the end of the 4th quarter and were kept from the endzone only by the clock. They scored on each of their last three drives in regulation.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dsvitak
This. There was no expectation that the 49'ers had the ability to stop KC from scoring, at the end of regulation. The Chiefs were clicking on all cylinders at that point.
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Yup. Of the many plays and decisions that decided Super Bowl LVIII, Shanahan's decision to receive the ball in OT ranks well below things like a) Mahomes and the Chiefs firing on all cylinders in the late stages of the game, and b) the Niners being somewhat on their heels... IOW, it's not hard to envision - if Shanahan had decided to kick off to start OT - the Chiefs marching down the field for TD's on two possessions. (True, Shanahan would've had the option of going for two in the even the Niners also scored a TD on their possession. But as we a know a 2-pt conversion is far from a guarantee.)
Under the new playoff OT rules, there are a number of different ways things can play out, and the only sure thing is that whichever team wins the coin toss is going to get either credit or blame for their decision - regardless of what it is - but wholly dependent upon whether they win or lose. The only exception would be that if the first few possessions result in no points, making the kick-or-receive decision merely a footnote.