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Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was called for a crucial holding penalty late in Super Bowl 57. The call put the Kansas City Chiefs in field goal position, where they kicked the eventual game-winning field goal.
Many fans and players were upset with the call on the NFL's biggest stage. This is in spite of Bradberry's admission that the referees got the call correct. Now, one referee is weighing in on the matter.
A pool report containing comments from NFL official Carl Cheffers released Sunday night. Cheffers explained what he saw on the play, and why the officials penalized Bradberry.
“The receiver went to the inside, and he was attempting to release to the outside,” Cheffers said. “The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called defensive holding.”
Cheffers went on to explain the play saw a “clear case” of a jersey grab restricting a receiver. “There was no debate,” the NFL referee stated. “Once he told us what we had, we went about our business.”
James Bradberry was covering Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith Schuster on the play. Smith Schuster confirmed his belief the flag was justified after the game.
“My route's to strike in, strike back out. I mean Bradberry's a good player, but you know I feel like at some day, the call's gonna be called,” the Chiefs receiver said.
The penalty allowed the Chiefs to kick their go-ahead field goal in the waning seconds of the game. The Eagles got the ball back with five seconds remaining, but quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a deep incompletion to seal the defeat.
