The Philadelphia Eagles shocked the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, but it appears the Patriots might have been robbed of an opportunity to tie the game.
With the Eagles leading 41-33, Tom Brady launched a Hail Mary toward the end zone as time expired. Tight end Rob Gronkowski leaped to make the grab, but Philadelphia’s defense was there to knock the pass to the turf and claim the Lombardi Trophy.
But it appears there might have been a penalty on the play that would have awarded the Patriots one more shot to even the score.
Eagles D allowed to clean Hogan out of the Hail Mary like that? I thought that’s illegal contact downfield pic.twitter.com/CrxQQmDqpj
— Carl Setterlund (@CarlSetterlund) February 5, 2018
While flags rarely are thrown in the end zone on Hail Marys, Chris Hogan getting demolished definitely qualifies as a penalty that should have been called.
If the ball was in the air when Hogan was hammered, the Patriots would have gotten one more shot from Philadelphia’s 38-yard line, and if it was just an illegal contact penalty, Brady would have had one more throw from the Eagles’ 46-yard line.
Whether the call was missed or not, the game came down to the Patriots defense’s inability to get off the field on third down.
