Marcus Spears, Robert Griffin go back and forth on controversial Eagles holding penalty from Super Bowl LVII
A lot has been made of the holding call from Eagles cornerback James Bradberry which essentially ended Super Bowl LVII. It helped Kansas City burn the final minute off the clock, kick the game-winning field goal and give Philadelphia just one play to try for a miracle which, in the end, did not come true.
The call has caused plenty of back and forth following the game, including ESPN analysts Marcus Spears and Robert Griffin III.
To start, Spears quote tweeted a clip of the play and said, unfortunately, the call was too obvious to not make considering how it took place. In response, Griffin maintained it was a bad call considering the weight of the moment that it was surrounded by.
In his answer back to RGIII, though, Spears kept it simply by saying that, as a seven-year NFL vet, Griffin knows, or should know, better than that when it comes to officiating.
To a degree, there’s a part of plenty of us that agree with Griffin. We seemed to be primed for a classic in Glendale after Philadelphia tied the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion with five minutes to go. However, after burning the time down to the two-minute warning, Kansas City was able to work the clock all the way down to the eight-second mark with their kick because of the holding call.
Still, as Spears points out, the call was a fairly obvious one to make. With a championship on the line, we’d all hope the players would be the ones who decide the final outcome. Even so, that doesn’t mean the officials can just swallow the whistle if they see a violation like that one take place.
Sirianni, Bradberry address controversial holding penalty vs. Chiefs
Super Bowl LVII was an instant classic and a back-and-forth battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs ended the game victorious, though, with a 38-35 victory.
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The closing act of Super Bowl Sunday was highlighted by a questionable defensive holding penalty. With the game tied 35-35, Kansas City had the ball with 1:54 left in the ball game. On a 3rd & 8, Patrick Mahomes threw a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that was incomplete. However, that play was followed by a flag on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry.
The holding penalty set the Chiefs up for a game-winning field goal. Despite the call being questionable, according to a report from NFL reporter Ari Meirov, Bradberry agreed with the call. He said, “It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide.”
Eagles head coach Nick Siranni shared a similar sentiment with the holding penalty following the game saying, “It’s not my job to make the call. Those guys have to do that in a split second.”
Philadelphia fans may not be as forgiving as Bradberry and Sirianni where following the controversial call. Even so, one play doesn’t determine the outcome of the game. It’s just that the penalty was definitely a major turning point during the Super Bowl and one that will live in the back of the minds of all associated with the Eagles’ organization for years to come.