Eagles' James Bradberry Admits to Holding; Hoped Refs Would 'Let it Ride'

Philadelphia Eagles defensive back James Bradberry let the refs off the hook after Sunday's controversial Super Bowl loss.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicked the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of their 38-35 win, but the Eagles would have had far more of a chance were it not for a questionable penalty on an incomplete pass on third down.

That kept the drive alive with just under two minutes remaining, and the offense milked the clock until the final seconds before Harrison Butker's field goal.

"I pulled on his jersey," Bradberry told reporters. "They called it. I was hoping they would let it ride."

The play in question was a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that appeared to have little chance of being complete, which would have forced the Chiefs to kick a field goal and give Jalen Hurts plenty of time to direct a game-winning drive.

He very well might have, considering he threw for 304 yards and ran for three touchdowns during a brilliant performance. However, the Eagles had just one more desperation play by the time they got the ball back because Kansas City ran the clock nearly out after the penalty.

It is notable Bradberry admitted to the flag, which figures to take some of the wind out of the storyline.

Still, it overshadowed one of the more memorable Super Bowls in recent history with two excellent performances from the two quarterbacks. Hurts was incredible in his first ever Super Bowl and Mahomes added to a legacy that is already Hall of Fame worthy at just 27 years old.

He now has two Lombardi Trophies in three Super Bowl appearances to go with two league MVPs and is nowhere near slowing down.

This latest championship came with a little help from the officials, but even the defender who committed the penalty admitted to the infraction.