Refs Ripped by Twitter After 'Bulls--t' Penalty in Chiefs' Super Bowl Win vs. Eagles

Super Bowl LVII looked to be well on its way to being an instant classic, but it was marred in the waning moments by a questionable call from the referees.

With the game tied at 35 with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes led his team down the field against the Philadelphia Eagles hoping for a go-ahead score. Facing 3rd-and-8 from the Eagles' 15-yard line, Mahomes threw an incomplete pass in the direction of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

However, a flag was thrown on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry for defensive holding. Replay showed marginal contact, but at that point games, the hope is that the referees don't insert themselves into the outcome.

The penalty gave the Chiefs a new set of downs and allowed them to set up a game-winning 27-yard field goal by Harrison Butker with eight seconds left, giving Kansas City its second Super Bowl win in the Mahomes era.

Fans and pundits on Twitter were incensed after the referees unnecessarily affected the ending of the year's biggest game:

A pair of players from the Cincinnati Bengals—who were on the wrong end of a defensive holding call in last year's Super Bowl loss to the Los Angeles Rams—also took to Twitter:

The 2022 season has featured some egregiously bad officiating, with multiple instances when the outcomes of games hinged on a call. It's unfortunate that the Super Bowl fell to the same fate.

The NFL will have to find a way to avoid these types of situations in 2023 and beyond. Despite the negative attention, commissioner Roger Goodell recently defended the referees and said he doesn't think officiating has "ever been better."

Perhaps the ending of Sunday's big game changed his perspective.