Cowboys fan Skip Bayless publicly denounces 'cheap' flag that led to Eagles' Super Bowl LVII defeat
Super Bowl LVII was one that NFL fans will not soon forget. The game was partially decided by a controversial penalty on Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry late in the fourth quarter. Skip Bayless, a staunch supporter of the Dallas Cowboys, came to the defense of the Eagles on Undisputed.
On the show, Bayless commented on the controversial defensive holding flag that was thrown at Bradberry.
Bayless said:
"I believe he would have gone and scored a touchdown. That would have won the game. But we'll never know because a referee threw a ticky tack, cheap flag, a cheap foul call that ruined the game and took away a chance for the Eagles to win a game that I thought they were highly capable of winning.
"The flag should not have been thrown because it was the classic NBA-style play where you just say play on there. There wasn't nearly enough there to throw a game-ending penalty flag."
Bradberry was guarding Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the fourth quarter with under two minutes left. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an incomplete pass to Schuster on third down from the Eagles' 15-yard line.
Instead of it being a fourth down, officials threw a delayed flag after the incompletion, calling Bradberry for defensive holding. The penalty gave the Chiefs a first down and allowed them to run the clock down to under 15 seconds. Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal to give the Chiefs the win.
However, the question does remain whether that was a defensive holding penalty and if Bayless was right about it being a cheap flag.
Super Bowl LVII referee Carl Cheffers and James Bradberry chime in on the call
After the game, Super Bowl LVII head referee Carl Cheffers was asked if it was the right call. Cheffers explained why it was thrown:
“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."
Cheffers was also asked if the other officials disagreed with the official who threw the flag.
Cheffers said:
“It was a clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction. There was no debate. Just making sure what he had, and once he told us what he had, we went about our business.”
Bradberry himself admitted after the loss that it was a holding penalty:
"It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide."
While Cheffers and Bradberry said it was a holding call, some NFL fans disagreed. Let's see if this controversy lingers this offseason.
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