Super Bowl 57 is in the books and for the most part it was an entertaining Super Bowl between the two best teams in the league going at it that is until it wasn’t.
For most of the 60 minutes of play on Super Bowl Sunday two teams laid it all out on the field trading scoring drives in a well evenly matched game where even the refs appeared to let the players play.
There were a combined 9 penalties for 47 yards one of which became a beacon for all that was wrong in Sunday’s game. While many see no fault in the call, many more were in utter disbelief as to how a single controversial play would solidify the winner in Sunday’s matchup.
The play? The Kansas City Chiefs were in Philadelphia territory on the inside of the two-minute-warning with third-and-8 to go. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tried to hit JuJu Smith-Schuster with a lobbed pass into the end zone that appeared well out of reach. A flag was thrown and a defensive hold was called on Eagles defensive back James Bradberry.
After several replays were shown across the screen the nation could almost hear a collective sigh at just how ridiculous the call was. The penalty gave the Chiefs a new set of downs that allowed them to chew up the clock and kick a game winning field goal.
The opportunity for the Eagles to hold the Chiefs to just a field goal with almost 2 minutes left to play would have offered them the opportunity to either tie the game or even win with a touchdown.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, they picked up their third Lombardi trophy tying both the Denver Broncos, and the Las Vegas Raiders. The only team in the AFC West without a Super Bowl win comes from the L.A. Chargers who many thought would press the Chiefs for first in the division.
Next season the Chiefs are expected to see stiffer competition from its division rivals especially since there appears to be a culture shift on the horizon for the Denver Broncos after hiring Sean Payton.
In other sports the Denver Nuggets have won two of their last three games, which were all on the road since last week. Denver’s more recent win came against the Miami Heat in Miami on Monday night. The Nuggets were without Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray who were out due to a rib contusion and knee inflammation.
The Nuggets are at home at Ball Arena to host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday who recently acquired Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline. Irving played 37 minutes in his debut with the Mavericks last Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers where he scored 24 points and had 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
Both Murray and Gordon are expected to play in Wednesday’s game.
