NFL fans and media are furious over questionable penalty that decided Super Bowl 57
By Josh Hill
After an otherwise unbelievable Super Bowl, one that will go down as a classic between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, a questionable call soured the entire night.
It’s not the first time a controversial moment happened in a Super Bowl hosted in Glendale. Super Bowl XLIII ended with the famous Helmet Catch, which was less controversial than it was incredible. Super Bowl XLIX ended with the infamous goal line interception by Malcolm Butler, which remains one of the most controversial calls in NFL history.
Super Bowl LVII also ended in controversy, but this time it was the officials stepping in the way.
With less than two minutes left, the Eagles seemingly stopped the Chiefs on a third-down with plenty of time to attempt a game-tying or game-winning drive.
But what looked like a stop to everyone watching looked like a penalty to the officials. Carl Cheffers’ crew threw a flag for holding before the pass was thrown. The call on the field was that James Bradberry grabbed JuJu Smith-Schuster, which was a little difficult to see upon looking at the replay.
Another look at the James Bradberry holding call
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) February 13, 2023
Was it the right decision to call this or was this too big of a moment?
pic.twitter.com/5tml59HdGW
The call gave the Chiefs a first down and the chance to run the clock down to almost nothing before kicking what ended up being a game-winning field goal.
There’s obviously a chance that the Eagles wouldn’t have been able to go down the field and either tie the game or take the lead but the fact of the matter is they were never given that chance due to an absolutely horrendous call.
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Maybe it was holding, maybe it wasn’t; the point is that the call was close enough that it shouldn’t have been called in such a huge spot in the biggest game of the year.
Needless to say, fans lost their minds after the questionable call was made. It wasn’t just Eagles fans, but football fans and media members who felt icky about what went down:
Refs coming in to decide the game pic.twitter.com/5vvm2OUm82
— Razzball (@Razzball) February 13, 2023
that's about the weakest defensive holding call i've seen all season.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) February 13, 2023
and in the last two minutes of the super bowl? unreal.
That’s such a crappy way to decide a Super Bowl man
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) February 13, 2023
Are you kidding me? Another SUPER suspect holding call deciding the end of the SuperBowl 🧐🤔
— CJ Uzomah (@cj_uzomah) February 13, 2023
I'm looking very forward to the Jason Kelce-Travis Kelce discussion about the refs on their podcast this week.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) February 13, 2023
Back-to-back Super Bowls with iffy third-down defensive holding calls in the red zone in the final 2 minutes.
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) February 13, 2023
Usually don’t get involved in ripping referees but HATE that defensive holding call on Bradberry. 35-35 late on a 3rd down incompletion on what was a marginal foul???
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) February 13, 2023
Let em play man!!
Bad call-hate that is what many will take away from this game.
Even LeBron James called out the officials after the call was made:
His hand on his back had no effect on his route! This game was too damn good for that call to dictate the outcome at the end. Damn! By the way I have no horse in the race. Just my professional opinion
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 13, 2023
It’s also worth noting that Roger Goodell commended the officiating while addressing the media at his annual Super Bowl press conference this week.
Roger Goodell on the state of today’s officiating: “I don’t think it’s ever been better.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 8, 2023
Less than a few days later, the Super Bowl was seemingly decided by a questionable call.
A Super Bowl win counts no matter what but it’s hard to imagine Chiefs fans are happy about this call too. What the penalty does is cast a shadow of a doubt over an otherwise outstanding Super Bowl, and Eagles fans would probably feel the same way if the shoe was on the other foot.
No one wants the Super Bowl to be decided the way this one was and it seems to be yet another sign that the NFL has an officiating issue on its hand that needs to be fixed before more moments like Super Bowl 57 are tainted.