NFL icon Tom Brady admits the controversial Philadelphia Eagles penalty that paved the way for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl 57 win was a tough call to make; however, he downplayed talk that it was the one played that decided the game.
Talking about his Let’s Go! podcast, Brady gave his two cents on the matter and noted that it’s “easier not to call him.” But ultimately he knows where the umpires are coming from and what prompted the call.
“Well, I think it’s always easier not to call him,” Brady said, via FOX News. “The difficult one is when you call him because there’s a lot of control with that call. And I think the point is at least from the catcher’s/(defenderer’s) perspective, if you’re not going to cover him, say, within the letter of the law and jerk him, you can obstruct the catcher from where he wants to go and create a pitch and catch almost impossible by the quarterback. And at the same time on the other side of the ball, if the receiver pushes away, there really is nothing [defensive back] can do to make the game. So it’s such a difficult situation because you don’t know what the game is called all day long.
For those who missed, Eagles cornerback James Bradberry received a defensive penalty for grabbing Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s jersey late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 57. Kansas City was third under the point, but they got a new set of downs with the call and actually allowed them to run the clock before Harrison Butker caught the game-winning field goal with seconds left.
It is certainly one of the biggest deciding factors in the game. For Tom Brady, however, referees shouldn’t be blamed or criticized for it. After all, there are several factors that influence the results. First, the Eagles led by 10 at halftime but trailed in the fourth before losing.
“So, you know, those plays come up all the time. Throughout the game they could be called. So the fact that it just boils down to that moment, I’m sure there were a lot of other holds that were let go. Brady added. “There were probably a few who called and ultimately you just have to, you know, the referee is trying to do the best he could do. So I don’t get too wrapped up in a call. I think I’m I’ve been in the sport long enough to realize that there are many things that impact the game and a referee’s call, yeah it’s important but, you know, the referees are doing their best and they’re not O robots.”
Bradberry himself admitted to actually grabbing Smith-Schuster’s jersey in the controversial play, and officials said the same after the contest. The Eagles cornerback was hoping the officials wouldn’t call him considering how the game was going, but in the end, the officials did and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Both the Eagles and Chiefs definitely deserved to win. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, they ultimately fell short as Kansas City used its championship experience to outlast them.
