The Philadelphia Eagles have been reigning as the new Super Bowl champions for over a week now after, but an iconic play in their victory over the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LII keeps on being scrutinized. According to NFL rules expert Mike Pereira of FOX, the touchdown reception made by Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was made possible by an illegal formation by Philadelphia which the game’s officials failed to catch, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.
“I know the league came out and said that it’s a judgment call, which it is,” Pereira said, via Clark Judge of the Talk of Fame Network. “The down judge, who was the one that [the play] was on his side of the field, they felt that it was his judgment, and [receiver Alshon Jeffrey] was close enough. Well, he wasn’t. They lined up wrong.
The play in question was the trick play the Eagles ran near the end of the second quarter of the Super Bowl in which Foles caught a touchdown one-yard pass from Trey Burton on a fourth down situation, putting Philadelphia ahead 21-15 before Jake Elliot scored a point off a kick to make it 22-15 heading into the halftime.
Article Continues BelowPereira explains further:
“Not only that, it’s a trick play. And if you’re going to run a trick-type play, then you have to be lined up properly. You could either have six men on the line, or you could have an ineligible number lined up at the end of the line, which was the case. I know what the league has said, but they would have been a lot more comfortable if they would have called an illegal formation.
Had a penalty been called, the Eagles could have elected to kick a field goal instead of running a trick play. In any case, the Eagles had their first Vince Lombardi trophy in the bag, and that’s all that matters for them.