FOXBORO, Mass. — Matthew Slater delivered in the clutch for the New England Patriots on Sunday night, and it wasn’t via a catch or special-teams tackle.
Slater, an eighth-year captain for the Patriots, successfully called the coin toss prior to overtime in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Slater’s triumph allowed New England to gain first possession in sudden death, which saw Tom Brady and Co. march down the field in 13 plays to secure the Patriots a 37-31 win at Arrowhead Stadium and a spot in Super Bowl LIII.
While many abide by the “tails never fails” plan when it comes to coin tosses, Slater opts for heads. As Patriots fans will remember, Slater successfully called heads ahead of the overtime period in Super Bowl LI, allowing New England to complete its miraculous 25-point comeback against the Atlanta Falcons.
Speaking with the media Monday afternoon, Slater shed light on his coin-toss strategy, which stems from watching his father, Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jackie Slater, back in his playing days with none other than the Patriots’ upcoming opponent, the Los Angeles Rams.
“Why I always call heads? Well, I remember as a child watching my father play in L.A. and him going out and doing the coin toss for the Rams and he always called heads,” Slater said. “I asked him one time, ‘Hey, why do you do that? What’s the story behind that?’ Anyone who knows my family knows faith is important to us. For him, he was always like ‘God is the head of my life. So I call heads.’ That was something he came up with and I’ve kind of just embraced it. But I’m glad it’s worked out for us here the last couple times when we needed it.”
New England, of course, would prefer to only need four quarters to get the job done against the Rams and earn its sixth Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. But the Patriots technically will be the road team Feb. 3, which would allow Slater to pull off some more coin-toss magic should the game need extra time.
