Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie subtly called out the referees over the late holding penalty called in Super Bowl 57.
Super Bowl 57 had all of the potential to go down as an instant classic game, as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were engaged in a back-and-forth duel on Sunday, Feb. 12. Even though the performances by quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes were legendary, all fans are going to talk about is that penalty late in the fourth quarter. Of course, that was the holding penalty on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry when he was covering Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. That gave the Chiefs a new set of downs, which allowed them to run the clock down and kick the go-ahead field goal with eight seconds remaining.
After the game, the holding penalty was the talking point, but the Eagles as a whole didn’t publicly ridicule the officiating for the call. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie subtly threw some shade at the officiating over the penalty.
“I thought we deserved to have a chance to win the game in the final couple of minutes,” h/t Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie subtly calls out referees after Super Bowl 57
The play occurred on third-and-eight, in which Mahomes threw a pass over Smith-Schuster that landed out of bounds. But the officials ruled that Bradberry held Smith-Schuster on the play. By the official rule of defensive holding, that results in the offense gaining five yards and an automatic first down. With the Eagles only having one timeout remaining, all they could do was watch as the Chiefs ran down the clock before kicking the eventual game-winning field goal.
If the holding were not called, the Eagles would have had a little under two minutes to tie the game or go for the win Instead, Philadelphia got the football back with just six seconds remaining in regulation. Hurts attempted a Hail Mary pass downfield, but it fell incomplete with time expiring. That allowed the Chiefs to pick up the 38-35 win and their third Super Bowl title.
While those on social media didn’t agree with the call, Bradberry was accountable for the play, telling reporters that he did hold Smith-Schuster.
“It was a holding. I tugged his jersey,” Bradberry said. “I was hoping they would let it slide.”
It was a case of what could have been for the Eagles. What if the holding penalty were not called? Would the Eagles tie the game? Or would they have won? There’s nothing that can be done, the result of Super Bowl 57 is finalized. The Eagles will look to make a return next season and win their second-ever Lombardi Trophy.
