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Chiefs' Travis Kelce critiques 49ers' Super Bowl OT choice, footage shows he and Patrick Mahomes were thrilled

callie lawson-freeman
Contributing writer
·3 min read
60

Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce knows that a lot has been said about San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his decision to receive the ball first in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII after winning the coin toss.

The All-Pro tight end offered his two cents on the subject during an episode of the "New Heights" podcast published Wednesday. While he tried to hold back, his critiques weren't tame.

“You win the coin toss, that’s what you get. You get the opportunity to have the advantage. And they gave it right over to us," he told his brother, co-host and Philadelphia Eagles veteran center Jason Kelce with a sinister laugh, "Damn."

Of course, the Kelce brothers aren't the first to say that they think Shanahan should've kicked off to the Chiefs after winning the coin toss in light of the NFL’s new playoff rules. It's been one of the most controversial aspects of the Chiefs' 25-22 victory, which was secured with a Mecole Hardman touchdown after the 49ers kicked a field goal to open overtime. 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was fired Wednesday, three days after the loss.

Kelce and his brother were candid about Shanahan's overtime choice not making sense to them, crediting the analytics specialists of their respective teams. But Shanahan immediately defended the decision saying he wanted to have the ball third. The only problem was that there was no third possession. Since then, he has cited the 49ers analytics team and his gut as influences for the decision.

"Not trying to harp on the guy, but it was a huge [mistake]. When they said they wanted to receive and the ref looked at Fred [Warner] and he said, ‘Are you sure?’ … I jumped out of my seat," Kelce added.

"Inside the NFL" captured what happened after Kelce rushed to his feet, and he was joined by quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his excitement.

"They wanted it, baby," Mahomes shouted with glee, sprinting to the sideline.

"We want them to have the ball," Kelce said, thrilled. "They want it, they can have it."

Kelce was reportedly a prominent voice of motivation for the Chiefs during the Super Bowl. In addition to discussing the final moments of the important game on his podcast, he apologized and acknowledged that he "crossed the line" during a heated interaction with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid in the first quarter.

Kelce added that he knew his third Super Bowl victory was imminent once the 49ers decided to take the ball in overtime.

"Defense, just hold 'em to three," he said. "Just hold 'em to three. We're gonna go down there and win this thing, baby."

That's exactly what happened, paving the way for Mahomes to lead a 13-play, 75-yard drive that will be remembered for years.