This year, the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl LIII coin toss and chose to defer to the second half. The coin landed on tails after the Patriots picked heads. New England won the flip last year. The Super Bowl Coin Toss Has a Dark Secret The company that makes the coin and sells replicas has a past it would rather forget. By Caleb Hannan February 2, 2016. The Los Angeles Rams won the toss and elected to defer, giving the New England Patriots the ball to start the game. Super Bowl Coin Toss. 7 of the last 8 coin tosses were won by the NFC. And from 1998 to 2001 the NFC won 14 consecutive coin tosses. Joined: Jun, 2016 Posts: 1926.
The coin toss felt overly complicated during Super Bowl 54.
And that’s where things got a bit awkward. The official, Bill Vinovich, turned to Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt.
“Do you want the ball?” Vinovich asked.
Who Won The Coin Toss In The Super Bowl 2016 Game
And Colquitt looked confused. Because of course the Chiefs wanted the ball. That’s really the only option. Because when Sherman said “defer,” he was not deferring receiving the ball, he was deferring making a decision until the second half. Meaning the Chiefs had to pick between:
The opportunity to receive the kickoff, or to kick off; orThe choice of goal his team will defend
And so the Chiefs chose to receive the kickoff, because when the 49ers have their decision to make to start the second half — the one Sherman deferred — they will obviously choose to get the ball.
Got that? These rules are needlessly complicated, as we’ve talked about already this year. You’ve probably always assumed that the team that wins the toss just decides to kick or receive in the first half, and then whichever team doesn’t get the ball to start the game gets the ball to start the second half. If only it were so simple.
Even Vinovich got tripped up as he concluded his announcement on the toss.
Who Won The Coin Toss In The Super Bowl 2016 Winner
“San Francisco — excuse me, Kansas City will receive in the first half,” Vinovich said.
Who Won The Coin Toss In The Super Bowl 2016 Results
The coin toss shouldn’t be confusing. But ever since Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott miscommunicated with an official on the coin toss, the NFL has tried to make it fool-proof, which (of course) has made it hugely complicated.