Rich Eisen Backs 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Taking Ball First in Overtime in Super Bowl Loss to Chiefs 

Anytime a team can't score points in each quarter it typically becomes a problem when facing a offense like KC. I totally agree that I was thinking the same thing at work, tracking it what I could.

That's why we needed a reliable kicker, which we don't have. Cant make the short ones.@@CodyH88

The most dangerous team in any sport is one that is being dominated on the field, but not the scoreboard. The 49ers were in control on both sides of the ball - they needed to go into half up by more than just the one score.

I knew niners was going to lose when they kicked the FG in OT...should have gone for it on 4th down i think they would have got it

I knew when they were up 10-0 early that they weren’t going to win

Now though if they go up 4 the chiefs drive the field with 4 down mentality to score a TD and it never goes into OT

even if they made the XP - that drive plays out differently and mahomes probably marches rigth down to hit the TD like he did at the end. you have a chance to put them away in the first half and you let it turn into a 1 possession score vs mahomes in the 4th quarter.... you've already lost. it's over.

Muffed punt was the biggest game changer. This was a closest a SB has gone and the last team with the ball won.

​@@JRcommentsspecial teams for the Cheifs were arguably the MVPs of the night. They had several huge plays.

​@@amagine1between Butker, Townsend, and the blocked field goal and recovered punt, I agree - Richie James made me NERVOUS AS HELL though 😂

It's freaky

It was huge in the outcome of the game. The minute he went went out, Reid and Mahomes started picking on his replacements and making moves. It was huge

Yeah that was a messed up injury😢

Excuses, excuses

Call it a trade. Chiefs lost Omenihu

Chiefs make you change your game plan.

Ravens and Niners just don’t want to run against the swifties

@@droppin_sik_beets Chiefs scoring 3 points in the 1st half didn't change the Niners' game plan to open the 2nd half. No excuse not to give a solid dose of CMC in the 3rd.

Yup. Makes zero sense

Not bizarre for Shanahan. SAME decisions in Super Bowl 51 and Super Bowl 54. SMH

I mean at what point is this just bad luck? Especially the Greenlaw stuff like what the hell man running onto the field? Had nothing to do with any play or anything.

All the 3 in outs during the 3rd were really bad play-calling by Kyle. Kyle got pass-heavy in the 3rd when he should have got the run game going to set up the pass. This feels like a repeat of the first SB against the Chiefs. I would have run the ball down their throats with CMC and went to pass sparingly throughout the second half. Just make sure CMC, Kittle, Aiyuk, and Deebo are on the field. CMC and Deebo are both WR/RB hybrids.

Said the exact same. That dope let the ball hit his foot and Ray Ray tried-might have been better to fall on it.

Just makes decisions that more important in order to overcome those things. And the 49ers could still have done it, but in the end the decision making hurt them.

Those are on field errors, physical errors. Those are unavoidable, or bad luck with the injury. The toss is an unforced mental error. Even if you want to “defend” the decision, there is no defense for the players not knowing the situation and the implications of taking the ball first.

When Shanahan had a double digit lead in a Super Bowl it was over.

Run the damn ball

Just like their first meeting

Let's say they run and it's a 1 or 2 yard gain. Shanahan probably kicks anyway because you 'take the points!!' as so many sceamed after the DET 4th down game. Now if he doesn't go FG and goes for it and misses or has a TO for points, what's the narrative then? Because that sure sounds like a Dan Campbell situation that people whined about for a week. Are they suddenly saying 'why not go for it Kyle!, this is KC you're playing' 😂 that literally is exactly the same reason Dan did so. SF was better than DET and he wanted to put them away. Funny how this turned out, actually.

@@JohnDoe-sl6di Nono, Running the ball might lead to winning.

Oddly enough, the blocked PAT kept SF in it. Mahomes gets a TD if he's down by 4. Then SF loses in regulation. You have to have the ball last against Mahomes. That's it.

@@rusty4265 I agree. The Chiefs kicked that tying FG with 6 seconds left. That's two more plays for Mahomes, and I think he probably gets it. There's no way of knowing for sure, but that blocked PAT may have een the difference between the Niners losing 19-17 or 20-17 instead of 25-22.

@@rusty4265 I kind of tend to agree, at the end of the day will never know it didn't really factor into things and they might have lost in regulation instead of OT. You just can never know. But the 49ers had som iffy special teams all year. Moody was not really the issue much it was more the blocking on puts, the tackles, the everything else. He did kick two 50+ FG and not a lot of K do that regularly. I think he gets better.

you think he gets it with 6 second? give me a break. Mahomes had not scored a td that wasn't gifted by special teams the entire game. Purdy totally out played him for most of the game.@@camicawber

@@terrythegnome2408 Sure. They were awfully close. They could have run the play that they ended up using to win in OT. And with 6 seconds he probably has two shots.

Taking the ball first is clearly the logically correct option.

@@smooth_concrete Riiiiight. Cause I'm gonna believe some loser coach & some nobody over one of the GOATs and every NCAA coach for like the past 20 years. In no way does it make sense at all. Especially considering WHO you're allowing to go 2nd. Maybe if it had been Jalen Hurts on the other sideline that strat could work. But Mahomes has done more with less.

@@jimmygreer2140 Ried's credentials don't matter if he's wrong. That's what we call the "appeal to authority" fallacy. The NFL rules are not the college rules. In college, it doesn't become a sudden death game once both teams have possessed the ball. In the NFL, it does. That's a massive difference, and absolutely changes the strategy. Clearly you don't want to be the one kicking off if the game does enter sudden death. Not to mention, even with the college rules, the "more information" argument for playing defense first has always been overrated. The defense first team has won around 50% of college OT games all time, suggesting it doesn't offer any significant advantage.

@smooth_concrete should change concrete to brain. You keep saying "clearly" when your strat is an embarrassing 0-1. Especially when you puss out and settle for a 3.

@@jimmygreer2140 Lol @ at pointing out the win % of a stat with a one-game sample size. And I agree, SF should have went for it rather than kicking the FG.

NINERS defense just got pushed down the field and gave up a FG to put the game into OT. Wanna put them back out there first? Hindsight , maybe…but in real time the D was gassed.

@@cornbread70s4 IF SF kicked off and KC scored first, then SF would know how they need to score 3, TD or a TD&2PT conversion. It’s still a huge advantage to have hindsight and the option/knowledge of whether to go for it on 4th downs or not. I can’t fathom how this isn’t less understandable than players being tired in the last game of the year.

THANK YOU

@@cornbread70s4that’s not the reason he gave for taking the ball. Said this was predetermined that they wanted the ball first so they could have it third. Problem with that strategy is getting it 3rd is not guaranteed.

​@@tedjordan7567 It's like playing for a Game 7 in basketball/baseball/ hockey instead of focusing in the moment of Game 6.

Well it’s good to know that if you were the head coach of the 49ers you would have made the same bone headed decision and lost the Super Bowl in the same way. It’s unbelievable you are even attempting to defend such a horrible coaching blunder.

I said the same thing @baydawg. Anyone with football sense woulda done the EXACT same thing man.

​@@teamsilva7563good analysis, *Armchair Quarterback!*

There was a pretty significant break before the start of regulation. They should have kicked it. But all the breaks went the Chiefs way anyways. Greenlaws injury, that punt off someones foot, the missed field goal. Only getting 1 out of 5 fumbles.... etc. Just wasnt their day.

@@leonardobraynen1524again, we watched how that played out. So if you agree with it, then you agree with making a decision that loses you the Super Bowl.

Also, a separate analysis using computer simulations of over 1,000 OT games came to the same percentages - 55% to 45%. Shanahan made the right decision...

@@grantmarn8984 There's something wrong with their simulation parameters.

Even if they scored a TD, the Chiefs would've ended it on a 2-pt conversion. It was over the moment it went into OT lol

To me it was when they couldn’t get the 1st down after the 2 minute warning. SF could’ve kicked the FG as time expired

Same, i knew it was basically *GAME OVER!* U cant beat Mahomes and Reid with just a fg. 7pts puts pressure on that kffense to score.

So why not go for it on 4th down every play during the entire game? A math guy actually suggested that.

@@jvanek8512The whole point is having the most information possible. You don’t go on 4th every time during regulation because there’s a lot of risk to that while the amount of points needed to win is still a mystery. If you defer in post season OT, you get the answer to that mystery and going on 4th can become a requirement rather than a decision. You have more information going second.

@@davidlichtenauer3722 not agreeing with the math guy, just people keep acting like players don't have to make plays and that things outside of analytics don't happen. I think it's ridiculous for people to say had he kicked the ball away they would have won. If a coin flip is that determative then this is a game of chance and not skill.

@@jvanek8512binary thinking. It is both a game of skill and a game of chance. So much is happening. You control the parts you can, like the decision making with this toss, clock management, being smart about when to go for it, or not, based on the numbers, and everything else that happens within the field beyond that is skill, mostly. Information is power. The team that gets the ball second in OT is armed with more information. That is an advantage.

A few points: 1. The "more information" argument, made popular in college overtime, has always been vastly overstated. It's hard to find the exact stat, but the defense first team has only won about 50% of OT games since the first one in 1995. So basically, no advantage, even if conceptually the idea does make some sense. 2. With the NFL rules, whatever advantage having more information (due to playing defense first) may give you is vastly outweighed by the fact that if both teams match each other's scoring on their first possessions, the team that played defense first will now be kicking off in a sudden death situation. Obviously, a very unfavorable spot to be in. 3. The idea that the defense first team should commit to going for two (and therefore, the win) if they need to match a TD is fine, but what if they only need to match a FG? Are they also willing to commit to going for it on 4th down in FG range to avoid tying and entering sudden death? What if it's 4&20? The argument for not taking the ball first simply doesn't hold up.

Is "3rd quarter choke" your pet name for Kyle?

@@JohnClarkWit is, but the last name isn’t Shanahan.

How could he possibly expect Purdy to complete passes

You think he would have learned his lesson after 28-3. But as they say.. the definition of insanity, is doing something over and over again and expecting different results. Shanahan now has the dubious hat trick honors of 3 SB losses, doing the same thing each time

It wasn't the injury as much as Wilks going to a soft zone coverage. He tends to do that at the end of every half.

A lot of people are talking about that. Pay attention.

​@@byronsmith3152which made no sense. They gave up like one big play in the 1st quarter.

Greenlaw injured was messed up and did impact the niners winning he is a big asset. Purdy played scared with no confidence hopefully he learns from this experience of a lifetime.

It was all part of the script

It’s called an adjustment made By KC

Stopping CMC?? The last drive by SF in the 4th they had 3 consecutive runs averaging 5.5yds….then on 2nd an 5 shanahan decides to pass. Two more runs for a first down gives them a last second FG.

​@@josephhuff9195 I am telling you. Shanahan thrice in 3 Superbowls. Of course, Carroll not giving it to Lynch. I think ego, bad play calling, and not sticking to your bread and butter have cost teams super bowls. I like it to an NBA team who has a dominant dominant post Center, like Shaq or Olajuwon. They are feeding them all game. Then go away from it to show they can beat you another way. If the Niners were to still have 3 straight 3 and outs by feeding CMC and go down swinging then sobeit. At least at the end of day you're going to your bread and butter guy for the kill shot.

Niners are owned by KC, no matter what they do they’re not good enough

He's way worse than Marv Levy, Levy never blew a 28 - 3 lead.

You mean OC for the Falcons in that 28-3 debacle where the Patriots came back?

I totally disagree with that. The Niners missed an extra point and muffed a punt. They had a bunch of pre-snap penalties. The Niners shot themselves in the foot repeatedly.

@@inttruders but on the other end the chiefs had a pick, offsides, a bad pitch, a hold in OT, an almost muff punt themselves. Both teams had mistakes but one team wins in the end in OT chiefs did in fact just win it.

@@inttruders Muffed punt was bad luck. It went of the blocker's ankle. The extra point miss is valid, but the kicker previously hit the longest field goal in Superbowl history. Hard to blame it on him.

@@inttruders He did, but so did the Chiefs. Mahomes had an interception, luckily the defense bailed him out, Pacheco had two fumbles one in the red zone. There was another low snap that caused a second and long. Neither team was mistake free

@@johnmcho The returner tried to pick it up and run, lol. Had he just fallen on the damn ball, KC does not get their first TD and the lead of the game. But even then, Purdy drove the field to get a TD only to then have the kicker choke.

They got pushed around because they were playing prevent. Romo (I think it was him) even called it out, saying they were giving them those short plays on purpose. It was a mistake.

I don't disagree. The decision to kick on 4th and 4 in OT won't get criticized as much as Campbell's decisions to go for it, but there IS a cost when you "always take the points" and "keep the momentum". The conservative path can hurt your chances as much as the aggressive path. Obviously we don't know what would have happened if Campbell had kicked or Shanahan went for it. All we know is that Shanahan will face less scrutiny (for the kick at least).

Should have run it twice to CMC for four yards. There’s no way he doesn’t get the first down.

That's a very fair and good point.. It's also interesting to see more people mention going for 4th downs and being aggressive. After all, this very team squeaked into the SB after DET had the same strategy and didn't convert. SF turns around and does some of the same 2nd half problems in this game DET did, but are more conservative and a good deal of people are upset.. Very interesting lol

@@CodyH88I think what is going on there is people want targeted aggression, as opposed to indiscriminate we always go for it aggression.

@@kftc1980 that's understandable. If I played I know I would rather have the game in my hands, rather than coaching who doesn't trust me and my teammates. So I perfer that more aggressive style. I get your point, though.

100%. It's saying you don't trust your defense to stop KC, so what does it matter if they're "rested" or not?

I mean if it was 4 & 20 in FG range for the Chiefs, I'm quite certain they would have settled for the FG.

No OT rules are different. If they didn’t score a td they would start the 2nd quarter of ot with it 2 and goal on the other side of the field

@@rustyshackelford3109 ohhhh gotcha I wasn’t sure about that

Actually that's not accurate. The reason they didn't worry about the clock was that if the first OT ended they just move down to other end of the field and start a new 15 minute quarter. The OT periods are not self contained.

@@Willtellthetruth yep, if that had been the end of the 2nd OT, then there is a half-time and subsequent kickoff.

@@JohnClarkW No, that would have been the end of the game. Each team is guarantee 1 possession. There's literally like no way it could happen timing wise, but if somehow the Chiefs had possession for like 20 minutes... and the 2nd quarter ended. The was game over.

This coach is the same SHAM who didn’t want Tom Brady because he didn’t fit his “system”. Yeah good call choosing JimmyG

I liken not deferring to giving up the button in a hand of poker.

Bad kicker? It was BLOCKED. Give credit to KC where credit is due.

The kick was low even the commentators agreed the D line got no push. But had he just made the PAT 9ers win in regulation. Not the first game he lost. Can't make the short ones and your gone.@@DMalltheway

Wrong. NFL rules are different. If its a tie after both teams had the ball then it becomes sudden death. CFB doesn’t have sudden death. So the team that gets the ball has the advantage

@@steveno7058 You obviously don't understand the situation. Just because it becomes sudden death doesn't mean letting your opponent go first does not apply. Knowing what you need to score to win is a great benefit for all the reasons stated by most talking heads and athletes.