9'ers fumbled the coin toss

[Double Tribble]

Was talking to a co-worker who mentioned that the 9'ers should have deferred after they won the coin toss, because the new playoff rules let each team have possession, even if you score a td on your first possession if you win the toss. So, if they deferred and KC went down and scored a td, they would have known when they got the ball back that they had four downs to score a td from the 4, instead of using their last down to kick a field goal. That's a great point, and worth keeping in mind down the road when we're in the playoffs. Shanahan should have deferred.

 

[ElvisInBlue]

The was a discussion point at the SB party I was at…the only explanation we could come up with was breaking KC’s momentum

 

[bileever]

I think Shanahan had a good point when he explained why he took the ball. He wanted to have the ball third if they both scored, because then it's sudden death.

 

[ElvisInBlue]

I think Shanahan had a good point when he explained why he took the ball. He wanted to have the ball third if they both scored, because then it's sudden death.

That’s a good point.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Shanahan chokes in big games over and over again. Why in the hell did he just abandon the run? He has fricken McCaffrey. Hellooooooo McFly.........

Also, why in the world would you not defer with those new rules? Wow.
30 years and counting............love it.

 

[bileever]

There are now 4,187 pages in the Kyle Shanahan thread on 49erswebzone.com. A sampling of the comments today:

 

[HawkFreak]

The was a discussion point at the SB party I was at…the only explanation we could come up with was breaking KC’s momentum

Maybe Shanny was not clear on the new playoff OT rules which would explain why his players didn't know either.

 

[Raifers]

I think Shanahan had a good point when he explained why he took the ball. He wanted to have the ball third if they both scored, because then it's sudden death.

But if the niners scores a td and Kc did, Kc would have gone for 2, no 3rd possession. If the niners got a fg like they did, I’m going to assume that Kc would play most series as 4 down territory so Kc still has an extra down to use compared to the niners.

 

[OneLofaTatupu]

I think Shanahan had a good point when he explained why he took the ball. He wanted to have the ball third if they both scored, because then it's sudden death.

Makes sense. So he knew but his team did not. That smarts.

 

[ZagHawk]

I think it was a decent call on their part, I think think both defenses were gassed at the time.

 

[QWERTY]

Don't forget the Niners lost their starting LB Greenlaw.

 

[AROS]

I also heard that they wanted to give their defense some rest which I can understand.

 

[knownone]

I believe accepting the coin toss still gives a slight edge in win probability, so I don't have an issue with that. The biggest mistake by Shanahan was not going for it on fourth down. If you accept the toss, you have to be aggressive in almost all 50/50 scenarios. You have to play it like Mahomes will score a TD. Shanahan didn't. He played scared.

 

[Torc]

I also heard that they wanted to give their defense some rest which I can understand.

And NOT giving the Chiefs defense rest. Those guys were on fumes.

 

[AROS]

You either play not to lose or play to win, period.

 

[Double Tribble]

If SF had gone for it on 4th down and failed, then KC gets the ball and even if they score just a fg, they win, is that correct?

 

[Double Tribble]

You either play not to lose or play to win, period.

That's true. I remember Romo constantly saying during the game how Shanahan said they planned to take the game from KC, but when the biggest moment came, they played not to lose. The SB is quite the pressure cooker.

 

[Raifers]

If SF had gone for it on 4th down and failed, then KC gets the ball and even if they score just a fg, they win, is that correct?

Yes

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[seahawks08]

Once it went to overtime, normally the higher skilled, established QB can make a difference to tilt a team towards winning. Mahomes wasn’t the typical self all of this year, but he has the X factor in big games. This is purely skill and experience. There is no two ways about it. 49ers actually had a great game plan to contain Mahomes all day. Both defenses played lights out. It was fascinating to watch.