The Kansas City Chiefs may have lost the coin toss at the beginning of the overtime period in Super Bowl 58, but they still got the outcome that they wanted and ultimately won the game.
According to comments from Kansas City head coach Andy Reid after the game, the Chiefs had decided ahead of time that if they won the coin toss they would have kicked off rather than electing to receive and have the first possession, per Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
Since the game ended, there has been much discussion around the decision made by San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to take the ball when his team won the coin toss. Shanahan explained after the game that he was looking ahead to the third possession, where the format would transition to sudden death and all his team would need to do is kick a field goal on that third drive to win the game.
Reid’s thought process shows the confidence that he has in his team on both sides of the ball. Reid trusts his defense to make a stop, but even if they didn't and they gave up a touchdown, it shows the level of trust Reid has in Mahomes and Kansas City’s offense to answer with a touchdown of their own.
Ultimately, the Chiefs got what they wanted and it didn't matter that they lost the coin toss. Kansas City's defense stepped up and held the 49ers to a field goal. After San Francisco kicked their field goal, Mahomes led his team down the field. The Chiefs methodically marched down to the redzone, where Mahomes found wide receiver Mecole Hardman all alone in the end zone for the walk-off touchdown to win the Super Bowl.
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