Super Bowl LVII gave fans an epic night of football, as the Chiefs managed to once again edge out their opponents this season. While the win is largely seen as deserved, there are many who claim the officials once again made a mistake. A mistake that ultimately cost the Eagles a chance at winning the game.
Advertisement
The call in question comes during the 4th quarter of the game. With 2 minutes left, and the score tied at 35 each, Patrick Mahomes found himself in the pocket with practically no receiver free. When he finally dispatches the ball toward JuJu Smith-Schuster, the referees end up throwing a flag. The call? Defensive holding, by an Eagles player.
That call gave Kansas City a lifeline, and an opportunity to run down the clock. The flag gave the Chiefs a new set of downs, which they promptly used to waste time. With 11 seconds left in the game, the Chiefs elected to attempt a field goal, an easy enough task for Harrison Butker at point-blank range.
The call has been haunting the otherwise thrilling game ever since. Even when James Bradbury, the Eagles player on whom the flag was thrown, accepted that he did in fact pull the jersey, the debate still continues. Though the question now is, should the referees have called the foul? Was it severe enough that a flag was necessary?
Rich Eisen shares his thoughts on the controversial moment in the Super Bowl
Among the many voicing their opinion on the call, is NFL analyst Rich Eisen. On ‘The Rich Eisen’ show, he talks about how he thinks the flag was unnecessary even though it was a foul. “I could have easily lived without this flag. Absolutely 100 percent, easily lived without this flag, even if we had seen the replay,” he says.
Eisen feels that the impact of the foul was very little in the outcome of the play itself. Which would give the refs the option of just letting it slip. This is exactly what Bradbury said he hoped would happen when he spoke about the flag after the game.
This call has taken somewhat of a center stage now. Though fans will not forget the impressive game they witnessed on Sunday. Especially the magical displays from Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. Hurts, who came well short of winning the AP MVP title, proved to his loyal supporters that he is still one of the best QBs in the league. Just not the best, it seems.
Patrick Mahomes was a different beast altogether on the night. Even with an injured ankle, which was aggravated by a tackle in the first half, he managed to make spectacular running plays. Not to forget the impressive Chiefs’ offensive corps, who were able to slip past the Eagles’ defense on multiple occasions.
While holding the Vince Lombardi trophy would’ve felt great, Mahomes can enjoy achieving a bit more than his peers on the night. He is now the first regular season MVP to win a Super Bowl in the last 9 years. He is also the first ever regular season MVP to win the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl MVP award too. Talk about the holy trinity of football, right? Is there anything Patrick Mahomes cannot do?
