With just under two minutes left in the Super Bowl, millions of people across the country became pissed off after the Kansas City Chiefs got an automatic first down after a defensive holding call against James Bradberry on 3rd and 8.
Instead of the Eagles getting the ball back with 1:50 to go and a timeout, the Chiefs wasted more clock and kicked the Super Bowl-winning field goal with eight seconds left. The defensive holding call drew lots of criticism on social media, given the timing of the penalty which probably could have been no-called.
During an interview on Monday, Richard Sherman blasted the referee’s decision to call the penalty. He also revealed what should’ve happened by the league during that moment.
“If the call’s debatable, you do not call it,” Sherman said on The Volume Sports. “In the National Football League, in the Super Bowl, if the call can be debated after, you do not make the call. New York should’ve called down and said, ‘Hey, wave that off. We’re not letting the game be determined like this.’ And they did not and that’s two mistakes in one play.”
“Instead, we sit there and watch them run the clock out and kick a field goal,” Sherman said. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
Despite how Sherman and others felt about the call, the NFL referees responsible for the call strongly defended the decision and Eagles cornerback James Bradberry even admitted that it was the correct call.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
It sucks that it happened at such a crucial moment, but it looked like the right call at the time.
The Eagles cornerback admitted the refs made the right call.
“It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide,” he said after Super Bowl LVII.
