LAS VEGAS — The city that is home to a “Penn & Teller” residency also could be host to the game that provides the next great act of Super Bowl trickery.
Maybe it’s the high stakes, the extra week of preparation or the fewer distrusted eyes allowed to watch practice, but something about the championship environment seems to cause coaches to feel safe breaking the glass on that in-case-of-emergency play call. Not that any of the Chiefs or 49ers would reveal secrets in their Super Bowl LVIII game plans.
“I think you have to play to win, not play not to lose,” Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Cowher said. “I think you have to be a little bit unconventional to win the championship because the talent is so even. You can always say one [team] is better than the other. When you get to this point, you are winning football games. Sometimes being a little unconventional when people are preparing for you is actually an advantage.”
The Steelers executed a trick play — a reverse pass from one receiver to another on offense, a surprise onside kick on special teams — in each of their Cowher-led Super Bowl appearances.
