Super Bowl LVII was a tug of war between two of the best offenses in the NFL.
A tug of the jersey might’ve changed the outcome.
The Kansas City Chiefs faced third-and-8 from the Philadelphia Eagles’ 15-yard line with 1 minute, 54 seconds remaining and the score knotted at 35. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to throw an incompletion intended for JuJu Smith-Schuster in the end zone. It would’ve forced a field goal attempt and given the Eagles the ball back for potentially the final possession.
A flag altered everything. Referee Carl Cheffers called Philadelphia cornerback James Bradberry for defensive holding, which gave Kansas City a new set of downs.
FOX color commentator Greg Olson expressed his displeasure with the call in that enormous moment on the TV broadcast. Rules analyst Mike Pereira believed it was the correct call.
But Bradberry took accountability for the play, admitting in postgame interviews that he got pulled Smith-Schuster’s jersey. He wasn’t sure if it’d be a no call.
When asked if he felt he tugged on Smith-Schuster’s jersey enough to be called for it, Bradberry hesitated, then said. “That’s not up for my judgment. I was hoping that he would let it go. But of course, he’s a ref. This is a big game. And it was a hold, so they called it.”
“Oh yes, 100%,” Smith-Schuster concurred. “Bradberry is a good player, but the call is gonna be called.”
The penalty allowed the Chiefs to milk the clock.
Cheffers told a pool reporter after the game that it was an easy call, and that there was no debate among the other referees.
“The receiver went to the inside and he was attempting to release to the outside,” Cheffers said. “The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called defensive holding.”
The next question was what, exactly, was the infraction?
“The grabbing of the jersey that restricted his free release to the outside,” Cheffers said. “It was a clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction.”
By the time Jerick McKinnon ran for 9 yards and intentionally slid to avoid scoring a touchdown, Kansas City kneeled twice and Harrison Butker made a go-ahead 27-yard field goal, there were only eight seconds left.
Kenneth Gainwell returned the squib kickoff to the Eagles’ 36-yard line and Jalen Hurts had six seconds to work with. His deep pass over the middle fell incomplete and one of the highest-scoring games in Super Bowl history ended with a whimper.
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