Stephen A. Smith calls out Kyle Shanahan, 49ers for postgame comments on overtime rules: "That is just embarrassing”

Yesterday's Super Bowl between Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs and Kyle Shanahan's 49ers was one of the most interesting Super Bowls of recent memory. It was also just the second time the championship game went into overtime. The Chiefs were able to outlast the 49ers, winning by a final score of 25-22.

As captains Fred Warner and Patrick Mahomes went out for the coin toss in overtime, the 49ers won and elected to receive the ball first. They thought an automatic touchdown would win them the game. Under the old playoff format, a touchdown scored on the first drive would end the game.

However, the NFL's postseason OT rules were modified ahead of the 2022 season, which ensured both teams got a possession in overtime. With the new rule chance, 49ers' head coach Kyle Shanahan was unaware of the rule when he elected to receive the kickoff in overtime.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith went on a rant on Monday's episode of "First Take" about Shanahan's lack of situational awareness.

“Kyle Shanahan it's your job to make sure you articulate what the situation is, that your players know all the rules they need to know… How in God's name are you going to be postgame at a Super Bowl and talk about how you weren't even aware of the circumstances of an overtime game when it's a Super Bowl championship on the line?"

"You cannot have a situation where you're admitting post-Super Bowl that you didn't even know the rules that pertain to overtime, everything is on the line right now and it's the Super Bowl championship that's on the line and you're literally saying you weren't aware of it, that is just embarrassing and that is a negligence of duty.”

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The Kansas City Chiefs were prepared for the new OT rule while the San Francisco 49ers weren't

Super Bowl LVIII - San Francisco 49ers v Kansas City Chiefs

While the San Francisco 49ers weren't aware of the new overtime rule, the Kansas City Chiefs were. Defensive tackle Chris Jones spoke to the media following the Chiefs' victory. He stated the team has been discusccing the new overtime rule for a few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.

“We talked for two weeks about new overtime rules. Give the ball to the opponent. If we score, we go for 2.”

Safety Justin Reid also told the media the team was prepared to kick the ball off had they won the coin toss in overtime.

Like Jones mentioned, even if San Fran scored a touchdown, the Chiefs could have responded on the next drive. They could kept the game going with a touchdown score and an extra point or completed a two-point conversion to win.