Andy Reid, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, has recently revealed his explicit approach to overtime strategy in football’s high-stake games.
In a press conference, Reid confessed that he and the team’s statistical analysis coordinator, Mike Frazier, have formed a unique outlook on how to maneuver within the overtime rules and strategies for optimum edge.
Reid and Frazier’s strategy focuses on the profound advantage of obtaining the ball second in postseason overtime.
Armed with the foreknowledge of how the opponents have played their possession, a team’s offense can calibrate their game plan to counteract the adversaries’ score.
“Mike Frazier, our analytics chief, he does all the work on it,” voiced Reid “It can go either way, but the one thing it does, is it gives you the opportunity to see what you’ve got to do. They came down and scored three points, you’ve either got to score three or get a touchdown.”
Andy Reid credited Chiefs statistical analysis coordinator Mike Frazier for working through all the strategies regarding the NFL's new postseason overtime rule, which was put to test for the first time in Super Bowl LVIII. https://t.co/f8RqAkKV2o
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 12, 2024
Reid highlighted that postseason overtime is fundamentally different from the regular season overtime.
A notable distinction is the guaranteed possession to the team kicking off, even after a touchdown.
This rule differs starkly from the regular season, where scoring a touchdown on the opening drive signals the end of the game.
Furthermore, another contributing factor is the rule that even after two full possessions and 15 minutes of play, if the score remains tied, the game simply can’t end on a draw
Reid also credited the officials’ assistance in ensuring that all the teammates comprehended their options in overtime.The NFL assigns additional officials to sidelines for game administration during the postseason.
Reid affirmed that this provision was extremely beneficial for facilitating a mutual understanding among team members, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes and special teams coordinator Dave Toub, on their preferred game strategy.
their options in overtime. The NFL assigns additional officials to sidelines for game administration during the postseason. Reid affirmed that this provision was extremely beneficial for facilitating a mutual understanding among team members, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes and special teams coordinator Dave Toub, on their preferred game strategy.
“That can go either way,” Reid said. “We would have kicked the ball off. The officials, actually, are on top of it right away. There were still a couple seconds on the clock and we had the extra officials on the sideline asking me what we would do, and I said we’ll kick off. Patrick was on the field and he was the one who had to do it, and then Dave Toub.”
The strategy that was initially pursued as an academic exercise emerged as the defining factor in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII victory.
What was once an abstract theory catapulted into a practical decision that turned the game in favor of the Chiefs.
