Mike Pereira thinks NFL intentionally did not overturn calls in Super Bowl LII due to complaints to Roger Goodell

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There were some questionable calls in Super Bowl LII that went against the Patriots.

One of them, which is probably the most talked about, is the trick play the Eagles ran where tight end Trey Burton hit Nick Foles in the end zone for a touchdown in the first half. The play was technically illegal and therefore shouldn't have counted, but the league sees it as a judgment call. There's really  no use complaining about it now, but that isn't stopping some people from doing it.

NFL on Fox analyst Mike Pereira is one of those people, and he has a theory as to why some of these calls weren't made.

NBC Sports Boston:

“I talk to enough coaches and enough members of the competition committee that they weren’t happy," Pereria said, "and so I think the word trickled to Goodell and Goodell probably sat down with Alberto, who he has a great amount of respect for, and just said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to realize you need to make an adjustment. You’re being too technical.'”

Another big call in question was Corey Clement's touchdown in the second half. Pereira says he thinks that call was correct based on inconclusive evidence.

“[The Clement catch] just wasn’t clear enough," Pereira said. "So I said it would stand...and it did..and I do believe that is the new normal...and probably had been the new normal for the last five weeks or so of the regular season and throughout the playoffs.

Just my two cents but I think this is why the catch rule should be clarified this offseason. To me, Clement's touchdown should have been reversed. If we're going by the rule, if part of a player is out of bounds without full control of the football, that should be incomplete. I shouldn't have a different opinion on it than others.

Either make it clear that a player has to have complete control of the football all the way to the ground without even slightly bobbling the ball while keeping both feet in bounds, or change it and make it a little simpler.

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