In head referee Carl Cheffers’ opinion, the defensive holding penalty that doomed the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII wasn’t a controversial call at all.
Cornerback James Bradberry’s hold on Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was “a clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction,” Cheffers said in a postgame pool report after the Chiefs rallied for a 38-35 win at State Farm Stadium.
“The receiver went to the inside and he was attempting to release to the outside,” Cheffers told pool reporter Lindsay Jones of The Athletic. “The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called defensive holding.”
Cheffers later added: “There was no debate.”
Bradberry agreed with that assessment, even if many watching the game on television did not.
The Eagles defensive back admitted after the game that he did hold Smith-Schuster and was hoping the officials had missed it. They did not, and the resulting penalty wiped out what would have been a third-down incompletion with just under two minutes remaining and the score tied at 35-35.
Though the Chiefs likely would have kicked a field goal regardless, had the flag not occurred, the Eagles would have gotten the ball back with ample time to respond. Instead, Kansas City was able to drain nearly all of the remaining clock before sending out Harrison Butker for a game-winning 27-yard field goal.
Philadelphia regained possession with time to run just one play, and a desperation heave by Jalen Hurts — who almost certainly would have taken home Super Bowl MVP honors had his team won — fell incomplete.
