Tom Brady gives his thoughts on the controversial penalty at the end of Super Bowl LVII
The matchup between Kansas City and Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII provided plenty of excitement. The Eagles jumped out to a 24-14 advantage before the Chiefs rallied in the final frame to pull out a 38-35 victory. With that being said, the game didn't end without controversy.
READ MORE: CBS Sports Projects Buccaneers to trade up for Tom Brady's replacement in 2023 NFL Draft
In the final two minutes of the contest, with the game tied and Kansas City facing a 3rd and 8, Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was called for holding on a play where he appeared to make minimal contact with Chiefs wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster.
The Chiefs were awarded a first down and essentially the game. The penalty allowed Kansas City to run out almost the entire clock, kicking the comeback sealing field goal with eight seconds remaining.
Since the confetti fell in Glendale on Sunday night, personalities from all over the league have been offering their opinion on the penalty.
Legendary quarterback and former Buccaneers star Tom Brady became the latest to weigh in during the most recent episode of his Let's Go! podcast.
“Well it’s always, I think, easier not to call it,” Brady said on the Let’s Go! podcast. “The hard one is when you do call it because there’s a lot of scrutiny with that call. And I think the point is at least from a receiver/DB standpoint, if you’re not gonna cover him, let’s say, within the letter of the law and you’re gonna tug at him, you can impede the receiver from where he wants to go and create an almost impossible throw-and-catch by the quarterback. And at the same time on the other side of the ball, if the receiver pushes off, there’s really nothing the DB can do in order to make the play.
“So, you know, those plays come up all the time. In every part of the game, they could be called. So the fact that it just comes down to that one moment—I’m sure there were lots of other holds that were let go,” Brady continued. “There was probably a few that they called and in the end you just have to, you know, the ref is trying to do the best that he could do. So I don’t get caught up too much on one call. I think I’ve been in sports long enough where I realize there’s a lot of things that impact the game and one referee’s call, yeah it’s important but, you know, the referees are doing the best they could do and they’re not robots either.”
A level headed response from someone that will eventually be stepping into the booth with Fox Sports. Brady already seems prepared for his future role.
For what it's worth, Bradberry was asked about the flag after the game and admitted to reaching his hand in the cookie jar.
"I pulled on his jersey. They called it," Bradberry said. "I was hoping they would let it ride."
Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 offseason.
