While bright red and yellow confetti rained down upon the Kansas City Chiefs following their thrilling Super Bowl 57 victory, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was the center of attention inside a downcast locker room. His controversial holding penalty on Chiefs receiver Juju Smith-Schuster late in the fourth quarter kept a huge red zone drive alive, and ultimately set up a game-winning field goal made by Harrison Butker.
Video replay showed Bradberry tugging on Smith-Schuster's uniform during the crucial 3rd-and-8 play. And as ticky-tack as the penalty was to both fans and analysts, Bradberry didn't argue the call. While speaking to reporters, he humbly admitted to holding Smith-Schuster, and had hoped that the officials "would let it slide." Bradberry's mistake came at the worst possible time, but former NFL lineman Ross Tucker doesn't see the point in arguing the penalty.
"We don't have to discuss whether or not there's an issue with the officiating, whether or not it was a bad call. Because during the first half, Bradberry had a hold that was way worse -- and they didn't call it," Tucker explained to the WIP morning show on Monday. "It was a 3rd-down to Juju on an in-breaking route and Bradberry tugged him and then let him go and they didn't call it... There's a long track record of officials letting guys play in the playoffs in general, and in the Super Bowl, in particular...
"We don't have to debate whether it was a bad call. Bradberry barely touched him at the end of the game. So wait a minute, you don't call that at the end of the first half when Bradberry clearly grabs him and tugs him backwards a little bit. But then when he barely touches him, with less than two minutes, you do call that? The problem with that is, the players play based on how the officials are officiating the game. If you let Bradberry get away with it earlier, you can't call it later because you've set the precedent that you're not going to call it."
After the game, Super Bowl 57 referee Carl Cheffers backed the controversial holding penalty, telling reporters that it was "a clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction." Cheffers also told the pool reporter that there wasn't any debate between the officials once the flag was thrown. To no one's surprise, Smith-Schuster agreed with the penalty, as he explained to reporters that he was "100-percent" held by Bradberry on the 3rd-and-8 pass attempt.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Eagles became just the second team to blow a double-digit halftime lead in Super Bowl history. The defense allowed 340 total yards and committed six penalties for 33 yards, and the Chiefs' pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns came in a three-minute span. The Eagles also struggled mightily to generate a pass rush, as a banged-up Patrick Mahomes wasn't sacked once on 27 pass attempts.
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