Travis Kelce credits Chiefs' hidden weapon for overtime strategy in Super Bowl 58 win vs 49ers
Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs held their nerves to pull a sensational win against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58. One of the biggest talking points from the game was the overtime rules.
The 49ers won the coin toss and chose to have the first possession. The new playoff rules, implemented in 2022, allow both teams possession of the ball and 49ers players did not have any idea of this.
Speaking on his podcast, New Heights, with his brother Jason Kelce, Travis credited the Kansas City Chiefs' statistical analysis coordinator, Mike Frazier, with educating the team about overtime rules and strategy throughout the playoffs.
"My guy Mike Frazier,"Kelce said. "He’s the one that goes through all these scenarios, all these big-time situations, end of half, end of game, rule changes, he comes up and stands in front of the team, and when he comes in front of the team everyone yells, 'Fraaaaz!'"
Travis Kelce also shared that Frazier would go through different scenarios that would help the team to be prepared better.
"Every single week, we talked about overtime rules in the playoffs. Fraz was up front giving what we would do in all these scenarios. So, everybody on the team, like we knew exactly what the best situation was and how we were going to handle it, how we were going to attack it," Kelce added.
Travis Kelce ridicules Kyle Shanahan over 49ers' OT decision in Super Bowl 58
Travis Kelce didn't hold back when talking about Kyle Shanahan's strategy in overtime. In the same episode of their podcast, the Chiefs star critiqued the San Francisco 49ers head coach, saying:
"When you win the coin toss that's what you get, you get the opportunity to have the advantage and they handed it right over to us... They want to receive, we get second possession, we know exactly what they want. Defense hold them, just hold him to three. We're gonna go down here and win this thing baby."
While Kyle Shanahan has been under fire for his decision to take the ball first in overtime, he defended the strategy by leaning on analytics. The 49ers head coach dismissed the notion of him and his team not being able to get it done in big moments.
So close, yet so far - has been the story of Kyle Shananan's relationship with the Lombardi Trophy. The 49ers head coach once again fell flat on the big stage. Shanahan is now 0-3 in Super Bowls, blowing a lead in every single game.