Travis Kelce breaks silence on 2023 Super Bowl controversial Bradberry holding call
Super Bowl LVII featured an anticipated game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles that resulted in a 38-35 victory for the Chiefs.
One of the biggest plays down the stretch that helped the Chiefs secure their victory was the holding call on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry.
Bradberry was called for a holding call on JuJu Smith-Schuster when the game was tied at 35-35 with 1:54 remaining, with the Chiefs facing a third-and-8 from the Philly 15.
Referee Carl Cheffers told pool reporter @bylindsayhjones that the grab was transparent and there was "no debate” on #Eagles CB James Bradberry’s third-down holding.
All the participants weigh in 👇👇👇 nfl.com/news/eagles-cb…
The call kept the drive alive for the Chiefs and allowed them to kick the game-winning field goal with seconds left in the game.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce addressed the call with his brother Jason on their podcast, New Heights. Travis said that he never wanted a game to end like that and hates that it was a controversial call towards the end.
Travis said:
"I never want there to be a questionable call at the end. I said, I said at the beginning of the game to the tight ends when I when I saw him pregame. I said, Man, you know what, I want you guys to go out here and have the best game. I want us to go out here and have the best game and made the best man win."
He added:
"I don't want there to be any question about you know, what happened here? What if? What if that?... But I never liked there to be a question about what could have been and things like that. So you hate that there was a controversial call at the end. But at the end of the day, I still felt like that was a that was an amazing game to play."
James Bradberry admitted that he held on the pass interference call
While the play was controversial, many fans were upset that Bradberry got called for a hold that resulted in a win for the Chiefs.
The 29-year-old himself felt that he was accountable for the consequences. When asked if it was holding, he said it was, and that he tugged JuJu's jersey, hoping the refs would let it slide.
Bradberry said:
"It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide."
Referee Carl Cheffers told pool reporter @bylindsayhjones that the grab was transparent and there was "no debate” on #Eagles CB James Bradberry’s third-down holding.
All the participants weigh in 👇👇👇 nfl.com/news/eagles-cb…
Regardless of what people thought, what happened was he was called for the penalty, and the team lost.
Bradberry will now focus on free agency and will possibly re-sign with the Eagles if the money is right.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit New Heights Podcast and H/T Sportskeeda