Super Bowl LVII was ready to go down as an instant classic. Back-and-forth action paired with a late Chiefs comeback—led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes—almost made for a perfect game. 

However, a late defensive holding call on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry gifted the Chiefs a new set of downs, enabling them to run down the game clock.

On Monday’s Toucher & Rich radio program, Michael Hurley of CBS Boston joined the show to discuss the holding call and the current state of officiating in the NFL.

• Defensive Holding Call

  Defensive holding… pic.twitter.com/PRsB6c64XM

  — MyBookie - Bet With The Best (@MyBookie) February 13, 2023

• Are there a lot of shenanigans going on when it comes to officiating in the NFL?

  Michael Hurley: I can’t speak to shenanigans. I can only speak to myself being cranky about what took place. It’s the second straight year officials did that, which is insane to me. You have no defensive holding penalties all game, then suddenly you’re inside the two-minute warning of a close game and the flags come out.

  By the letter of the law, there was an infraction there, barely. People who are acting like it was an obvious call are insane. That kind of contact had been let go all night.

  You ask any player in a game where things are physical on the outside, where there’s hand fighting, where there’s contact, and you ask, ‘What was going on there?’ They’ll say, ‘They weren’t calling it, so I was doing it.’.

  To all of a sudden change the standard with the game on the line on a third down incompletion, it just sucks. There’s no other way to put it when it basically robs us. I’m not saying it robbed the Eagles of the Super Bowl, but it robbed us all of watching them try to tie or win it. It’s just a lousy way to decide on a Super Bowl and now I’m going to be cranky for another year.

• Goodell Statement

  Roger Goodell: “When you look at officiating, I don’t think it’s ever been better.”
  
  Just a couple of days ago.pic.twitter.com/VqzusrMEmg

  — Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 13, 2023

• How tough is it to listen to Roger Goodell?

  Michael Hurley: Having sat through, I don’t know, ten Roger Goodell press conferences, it’s wearing me down. It’s hard to get through the day when Roger gives a press conference like that. So much of what he said is ridiculous. I don’t understand how you could claim that officiating is at an all-time high.

  Do you remember Kansas City had the replayed third down [in the AFC Championship Game]? In that press conference, Roger said, ‘That’s fairly common in our game. It happens quite a bit.’ Every football person was like, ‘I’ve never seen that in my life.’

  I just think it’s an issue. Nobody denies that officiating is hard or that they get a lot of calls correct. The problem is just when they miss something egregious or they do what they did last night or spend too much dissecting what is and isn’t a catch.

  I just think there are so many issues. For him to say things have never been better—I don’t get it. It’s just classic Roger Goodell.

• Just like last year, my issue is this: There were ZERO calls for defensive holding before Bradberry was flagged. Zero. All game. Players play to the game that's being called.
  
  The infraction, such as it was, was far from egregious. Just can't call it. Cannot.
  
  Frustrating.

  — Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) February 13, 2023

• Full Segment

• 

  Feb 8, 2023; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks to the media during a press conference at Phoenix Convention Center prior to Super Bowl LVII. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

• Ryan Beaton is a Producer and Contributor for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.

  Follow @Toucherandrich on Twitter, @Toucherandrichofficial and @fredtoucher on Instagram to keep up with the show!

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