The San Francisco 49ers didn’t walk away as winners of Super Bowl LVIII, but that doesn’t change the fact that receiver <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jauan-jennings-137808/">Jauan Jennings</a> had a historic performance. 



Jennings became just the second player to catch and throw a touchdown in a Super Bowl, joining Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles (2018). Jennings threw for a touchdown in the second quarter after the 49ers ran a trick play where he caught a pass in the backfield before throwing across the field to running back <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/christian-mccaffrey-23038/">Christian McCaffrey</a>. McCaffrey reeled in the pass from Jennings and ran into the end zone for six. 



But according to CBS analyst Boomer Esiason, the play shouldn’t have counted. Esiason, speaking about the touchdown during halftime, said that 49ers center <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jake-brendel-53356/">Jake Brendel</a> should have been flagged for an illegal man downfield penalty, thus nullifying the touchdown.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Boomer Esiason says Christian McCaffrey's Touchdown should not have counted due to an illegal man downfield. <a href="https://t.co/phgH1eGcVz">pic.twitter.com/phgH1eGcVz</a>— Craig R. Brittain (@RealBrittain) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealBrittain/status/1756851461470744754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



“By the way, Jake Brendel – the center for the San Francisco 49ers – should have been called for an illegal man downfield,” Esiason <a href="https://twitter.com/RealBrittain/status/1756851461470744754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1756851461470744754%7Ctwgr%5Eee715e5a16c9e118bb5f33a143191bc08dc73bd8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fcbs%2Fboomer-esiason-super-bowl-lviii-touchdown-claim-inaccurate.html">said</a>. “This touchdown should not have counted.”



Upon further review, it appears Esiason was incorrect in his analysis. McCaffrey caught the ball from behind the line of scrimmage, meaning it didn’t matter if Brendel was downfield. As stated from the NFL’s rule book courtesy of <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/cbs/boomer-esiason-super-bowl-lviii-touchdown-claim-inaccurate.html">Awful Announcing</a>, “ineligible pass receivers can advance more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage … provided that they do not block or contact a defensive player.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chiefs-defeat-49ers-after-questionable-decision-from-kyle-shanahan">Chiefs defeat 49ers after questionable decision from Kyle Shanahan</h2>



The play did indeed count and turned out to be the highlight of the 49ers’ appearance in Super Bowl LVIII. Kansas City walked away with a 25-22 overtime victory to secure its second consecutive Super Bowl win and third in the last five seasons. 



The 49ers watched the game slip away as Chiefs quarterback <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/patrick-mahomes-ii-95458/">Patrick Mahomes</a> found receiver <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/mecole-hardman-86918/">Mecole Hardman</a> for a game-winning score in overtime. Kansas City’s game-winning score followed San Francisco’s overtime drive, which ended with a field goal. Head coach Kyle Shanahan made the decision to take the ball first under the new overtime rules, which guarantees both teams at least one possession.



That decision backfired. After the game, Shanahan explained his decision to take the ball first in overtime. 



“It’s just something we talked about,” Shanahan <a href="https://www.on3.com/pro/news/kyle-shanahan-explains-decision-to-receive-overtime-kickoff-in-super-bowl-lviii/">said</a>. “None of us have a ton of experience with it. But we went through all the analytics and talked to those guys. We just thought it would be better. We wanted the ball third. If both teams matched and scored, we wanted to be the ones who had the chance to go win. So got that field goal, so knew we had to hold them to at least a field goal and if we did, we thought it was in our hands after that.”

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Boomer Esiason argues 49ers trick play touchdown shouldn't have counted

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