Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame the Referees for the Philadelphia Eagles Losing Super Bowl LVII

Last night, the Kansas City Chiefs came from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

It was the most points ever scored by a team in a Super Bowl that still lost. It broke the record of 33, set by the New England Patriots, 5 years ago, when they lost 41-33... to the Eagles. That game remains the highest-scoring Super Bowl, topping last night's game, 74 to 73.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes fought off an ankle injury at the Eagles' defense, the best in the NFL all season long, to lead the comeback, and win his 2nd Super Bowl in 3 tries, and also his 2nd Pete Rozelle Award as the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl.

Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left in regulation, following a drive aided by a penalty on James Bradberry for holding Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, giving the Chiefs an automatic 1st down. Eagle fans were furious over the call, which, if called an incomplete pass, would have meant 4th down and 8 yards to go on the 17.

Did Eagle fans have a point? It was a borderline call, and the tendency in the late moment of a postseason game, in any sport, is for the officials to "Let them play." This time, the call was made.

Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame the Referees for the Philadelphia Eagles Losing Super Bowl LVII

5. The Hurts Fumble Hurt. Jalen Hurts didn't play like a 2nd-year quarterback. He played as if pressure was a friend, not an enemy. But early in the 2nd quarter, with the Eagles leading 14-7, he fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Nick Bolton, who returned it 36 yards for a game-tying touchdown.

If that fumble hadn't happened, even if the Eagles had stalled, and then held the Chiefs off on their next drive, they would have won the game.

4. Experience. In an exercise such as this, the easiest thing is to say, "The opposition was better," and make that Reason Number 1. Were the Chiefs better? Eagles head coach Nick Sirriani said so after the game: "Today, they were better than we were."

At the very least, they were more experienced. They won the Super Bowl 3 years ago, and lost another 2 years ago. Many of their players from those games were in this one as well, enabling them to overcome the "Dynasty of One" tag. In contrast, the Eagles only had 4 players remaining, and almost an entirely different coaching staff, from their Super Bowl win of 5 years ago. Aside from that, they didn't have Super Bowl experience.

Speaking of experience:

3. Andy Reid. In Super Bowl XXXIX, 18 years earlier, Reid coached the Eagles against the New England Patriots, and his poor clock management was one of the things that cost the Eagles the game. It wasn't the first time that happened while he was their coach, nor the last.

It was why I was sure the Chiefs would lose Super Bowl LIV to the San Francisco 49ers: I didn't trust him in the game's closing minutes. But he managed the clock well that time. And he did again last night, outcoaching Sirriani despite having a 24-to-36-minute time of possession deficit.

2. It Probably Didn't Matter. If the penalty hadn't been called, or had been overruled by the referee, or invalidated by instant replay -- instead of the referee calling for the replay, and the replay confirming that the right call was made -- it would have given the Chiefs 4th & 8 at the Eagles' 17. A field goal from there would have been 34 yards.

Granted, Butker had missed a field goal earlier, but that was from 42 yards. Even with the field being in bad shape, he should have been able to make it from 34, under a dome and thus in perfect weather.

It would have given the Eagles the ball back with about 1 minute to go, instead of 8 seconds. Depending on the lengths of the kickoff and its return, they would have needed 50 yards, maybe as little as 40, for a game-tying field goal. But as good as Hurts had been during the game, there's no guarantee that he would have been able to do it, especially win only 1 time-out remaining.

1. The Eagles Admitted It. Bradberry himself said, after the game, "I pulled on his jersey. They called it. I was hoping they would let it ride." And Sirriani said, "That's not what it is. There's so many plays that contribute to the end result of a game. And, today, they were better than we were."

VERDICT: Not Guilty. This game was fairly won, and it was fairly lost.