Counterintuitive to be sure, but this one was the right choice in the overall, and I will defend it for life. If you get the ball first, you don't know how much you need to beat you. A field goal may not be well enough, and you're less likely to hit four down territory?
Get the ball second? You know what you have to score, and you get a greater opportunity of downside, it's always four if the other team successfully kicked a field goal. You have the knowledge that a FG will tie, win, or not be enough. It's why if I'm coaching I always will kickoff. That's to say nothing of elements, given you get to decide which way the opposition faces in games with heavy wind. Just look at Hank Stram's intentions (rather than Abner Haynes' actual decision of 'We'll kick to the clock!') in the 1962 AFL Championship.