Super Bowl LVII was a great game between two top teams and quarterbacks. The Chiefs and Eagles went back and forth all game long on the scoreboard while they were slipping and sliding on the field.
Then, of course, with the clock winding down, the officials called the first and only defensive holding penalty of the game that left the Eagles with time for just one play when the got the ball back.
Jason La Canfora and Carl Dukes of the Audacy Original Podcast “In The Huddle” talked about the game-deciding defensive holding call and the “shameful” field conditions in the Super Bowl.
“Is that why the game was won or lost? No. But is it shameful for the NFL that we continue to have games marred by insufficient, not up-to-standard playing conditions – by that I mean the field – and the officials,” La Canfora said (9:04 in player above). “How can this be? They thump their chest about ‘We’re going to be $20 billion in revenue. We’re shooting for $25 billion in revenue. And we’re going to play games on the moon one day!’
“It’s England, it’s Germany, it’s Mexico, it’s going to be Brazil. We’re playing on the moon. And we keep seeing guys slipping and sliding and getting hurt non-contact in playoff games. This isn’t a preseason game. And I saw a tweet the league sent out that morning about how much time and money they put into that playing surface… ‘We roll it in. We roll it out. We’re watching it like it’s a newborn baby.’ Did anybody test it out? The hell are we doing here? It’s shameful. Shameful!”
There were a few tweets over the weekend about how the NFL prepared the field for this Super Bowl.
Former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho highlighted a perfect example of the poor conditions.
“It was bad. There’s no doubt about it,” Dukes agreed. “Guys are changing cleats to try to adjust during the game. Listen, that can be a normal thing. This is the Super Bowl. This isn’t any given Sunday; it’s the damn Super Bowl. So these guys shouldn’t have to go through that or worry about a guy slipping and breaking his ankle but they’re fortunate nobody seriously got hurt.”
The officiating in the NFL continues to be under scrutiny and after the poor field conditions in the Super Bowl, perhaps that is something that will be under fire as well.
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