The NFL’s new overtime rules were confusing for just everyone Sunday, including Mecole Hardman.
“I threw a touchdown to this dude at the end of the game, and he looked at me, and he had no idea,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on NFL Network. "I said, ‘Dude, we just won the Super Bowl!’ He blacked out, he had no idea. He didn’t even celebrate at the beginning.”
Hardman caught a 3-yard pass from Mahomes at the tail end of overtime to lift the Chiefs to a 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers. It marked the second overtime in Super Bowl history and the first under the league’s new postseason OT rules.
The NFL changed its postseason rules in March 2022 after complaints that came from the divisional-round playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Chiefs that year. The game went into overtime after the Chiefs scored with 13 seconds left, and then the Chiefs scored on their first drive in overtime without the Bills getting a possession.
Under the new rules, both teams get at least one possession in overtime, regardless of whether the team that gets the ball first scores. If the score is still tied after each team gets the ball once, the next score wins. The only way the game would end after one possession is if the kicking team forces a safety on the initial possession.
Overtime Rules for #SBLVIII:@NFL postseason overtime rules were updated in 2022 to allow each team an opportunity to possess the ball.Full rules available here: https://t.co/B4SCLVtNL2 pic.twitter.com/RpWtoNqlzb
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) February 12, 2024
The 49ers won the overtime toss and took the ball first. They made it into the red zone, but their drive stalled, and they settled for a field goal. That put them up 22-19 and gave the ball to the Chiefs.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked afterward the decision to receive and said it was something the team talked ahead of time.
