Super Bowl LVII ended in controversy; here's what the ref said about the
call

The Kansas City Chiefs won their third Super Bowl Sunday as they defeated
the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII. It was an entertaining
affair headlined by two star quarterbacks -- Patrick Mahomes and Jalen
Hurts -- who combined for seven total touchdowns in the third highest-
scoring Super Bowl of all time.

The contest was virtually ended by a controversial penalty, however. With
the game tied at 35 apiece late in the fourth quarter, Mahomes led the
Chiefs down to the Eagles' 15-yard-line with 1:54 remaining. Facing a
third-and-8, Mahomes attempted a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the left
corner of the end zone, but the ball was overthrown. HOWEVER, there was
some yellow laundry on the field.

Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was called for a holding penalty, which
gave the Chiefs a first down:

Did Bradberry grab Smith-Schuster a bit? Yes. Does that flag get thrown
every time? No. After the game, Bradberry told reporters that the
officials made the right call.

"I pulled on his jersey. They called it. I was hoping they would let it
ride," Bradberry said, via CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson.

After the penalty, Jerick McKinnon took a handoff to the 2-yard line, and
the Eagles were forced to use their final timeout with 1:36 remaining.
Mahomes then kneeled a couple of times, and Harrison Butker kicked the
game-winning 27-yard field goal. The Eagles then had just eight seconds to
score points, but Hurts' Hail Mary came up short.

After the game, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni commented on the penalty:

"It's not my job to make the call. Those guys have to do that in a split
second," Sirianni said.

PFWA pool reporter Lindsay Jones interviewed referee Carl Cheffers after
the game, who called the play a "clear case of a jersey grab that caused
restriction."

"The receiver went to the inside and he was attempting to release to the
outside. The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and
restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called
defensive holding."

The penalty was a major turning point in Super Bowl LVII, and something
that is going to be debated for years to come.

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