The Kansas City Chiefs won their third Super Bowl Sunday as they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII. It was an entertaining affair headlined by two star quarterbacks -- Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts -- who combined for seven total touchdowns in the third highest-scoring Super Bowl of all time.
The contest was virtually ended by a controversial penalty, however. With the game tied at 35 apiece late in the fourth quarter, Mahomes led the Chiefs down to the Eagles' 15-yard-line with 1:54 remaining. Facing a third-and-8, Mahomes attempted a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the left corner of the end zone, but the ball was overthrown. HOWEVER, there was some yellow laundry on the field.
Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was called for a holding penalty, which gave the Chiefs a first down:
HUGE HOLDING CALL pic.twitter.com/rvWkQmG5yV
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliTSP) February 13, 2023
Did Bradberry grab Smith-Schuster a bit? Yes. Does that flag get thrown every time? No. After the game, Bradberry told reporters that the officials made the right call.
"I pulled on his jersey. They called it. I was hoping they would let it ride," Bradberry said, via CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson.
After the penalty, Jerick McKinnon took a handoff to the 2-yard line, and the Eagles were forced to use their final timeout with 1:36 remaining. Mahomes then kneeled a couple of times, and Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning 27-yard field goal. The Eagles then had just eight seconds to score points, but Hurts' Hail Mary came up short.
After the game, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni commented on the penalty:
#Eagles coach Nick Sirianni on the holding penalty: “It’s not my job to make the call. Those guys have to do that in a split second.” pic.twitter.com/00XnD1iLgi
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 13, 2023
"It's not my job to make the call. Those guys have to do that in a split second," Sirianni said.
PFWA pool reporter Lindsay Jones interviewed referee Carl Cheffers after the game, who called the play a "clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction."
"The receiver went to the inside and he was attempting to release to the outside. The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called defensive holding."
The penalty was a major turning point in Super Bowl LVII, and something that is going to be debated for years to come.
