A coin toss usually takes place at the beginning of a football game, if you’ve ever watched one.
Each game begins with the referee flipping a coin to determine which team will kick off.
One of the captains who have been called out for the coin toss will decide which side of the coin the away team wants for the toss.
After clearly identifying which side of the coin is heads and which is tails, the referee will ask the away team captain to “call it in the air”. This means that the captain must call heads or tails before the coin is caught.
Following the coin toss, the referee will declare which team won.
When a team wins a coin toss, they do not automatically get the ball, but they have several choices.
When you Win a Coin Toss in Football, What Happens?
There are actually several options a team can choose from when winning a coin toss. This is often what a team decides to do but there are actually several options they can choose from.
Choosing A Direction
During the coin toss, teams may choose a direction they want to play towards. If you choose a direction, you forfeit the right to decide who gets the ball.
In some stadiums, obstacles like wind or sunlight may make it more difficult for an offense to choose a direction to play.
As a result of these obstacles, teams may choose a specific direction to play toward. This is especially true in overtime, when teams only play in one direction until the end of the game.
Since overtime is only a single quarter, teams usually change directions after each quarter.
Choosing The Ball
When it comes to winning a coin toss, choosing the ball is one of the most common options. By choosing the ball, you guarantee that you will receive the ball first.
When it comes to winning a coin toss in overtime, this is almost always the choice. This is due to the fact that the first team to score a touchdown wins automatically.
In overtime, getting the first possession is a huge advantage.
Choosing To Defer
When a team wins a coin toss, they can postpone the decision. Deferring means they will not pick any option, instead deferring it until the second half.
By deferring the coin toss, you give the opposing team the option to choose.
When it comes to coin tosses in the NFL, it is fairly common to defer the coin toss. This means that your team will get the ball to start the second half.
When you defer, you are deferring your decision until the second half instead of deciding whether to kickoff or receive to start the game.
Choosing To Kick
The other option a team has when winning the coin toss is to kick the ball. This means the team that won the toss will kick the ball to the opponent.
Kicking to start a game is a very rare option because you are giving up possession by kicking. Kicking does not give you the ball in the second half.
It is usually an accident that a team chooses to kick instead of deferring when they are actually trying to defer.
In bad weather, teams will only kick on purpose in overtime.
Let’s say there is inclement weather making it difficult to move the ball.
If the defense is able to get a quick stop, this should give the offense great field position and a chance to win.
Overtime Coin Tosses
It is imperative to know that coin tosses will play out differently in overtime.
A touchdown on a team’s first drive ends a regular season game in NFL football. Teams can match this score in the playoffs by scoring a touchdown on their next drive.
Either way, scoring quickly in overtime will increase your chances of winning.
In overtime coin tosses, teams almost always choose to receive the ball.
When a game is heading into overtime, NFL teams almost always choose to receive the ball if they win the coin toss.
Due to the importance of the overtime coin toss in playoff games, the NFL recently changed the scoring rule.
Due to the ease with which the offenses were scoring in a crazy game between the Buffalos and Kansas City Chiefs, this rule was changed.
What Team Calls the Coin Toss?
Fans often wonder which team calls the coin in the air during the coin toss.
Each game, the away team will call the coin toss.
There is already a significant advantage for home teams in football. Home teams don’t have to travel and have the advantage of the home crowd throughout the game.
It is the least they could do to give the away team a chance to call the coin toss.
In the end, calling the coin toss won’t determine who wins, since the odds are 50/50 either way.
Who Calls the Coin Toss in the Super bowl?
Football fans know that unlike most NFL games, the Super bowl is not played at home.
The higher-seeded team will play at home in the playoffs, while the Super bowl location will already be selected before the season begins.
As a result, there is no real home team in the Super bowl. It rotates between the NFC and AFC regardless of the location.
In the Superbowl, the home team will rotate between the AFC and the NFC each year.
It will be the away team that flips the coin that year.
According to their conference, the away team will call the Super bowl coin toss.