Cheering fans welcome Eagles back to Philadelphia after Super Bowl loss
PHILADELPHIA - Fans lined a chain link fence at Philadelphia International Airport to cheer for Eagles players and coaches as they deplaned from Phoenix following a deflating Super Bowl loss.
The team boarded a fleet of busses that took them to the NovaCare Center in South Philadelphia where they were greeted by even more screaming fans as they departed in their personal cars.
Kansas City won its second Super Bowl in four years by beating the Eagles 38-35 on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. It was an exciting back-and-forth game that saw the Chiefs claw back from a 10-point halftime deficit.
One of the few gripes for football fans — particularly Eagles fans — was the anticlimactic ending.
The Chiefs were driving and faced third-and-8 at the Eagles 15-yard line with 1:54 remaining when Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw incomplete to JuJu Smith-Schuster. But officials flagged Bradberry for defensive holding, which negated the incompletion and, more importantly, gave the Chiefs a first down.
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Replays showed that Bradberry made light contact with Smith-Schuster, though it didn't appear to affect the play much.
Many fans — and some football commentators — disagreed with the call. Former NFL tight end Greg Olsen wasn't happy with the decision on the Fox broadcast and ESPN and Amazon analyst Kirk Herbstreit was also critical on social media.
"It was a holding. I tugged his jersey," Bradberry said. "I was hoping they would let it slide," Bradberry told the media after the game.
The sour finish to an otherwise entertaining Super Bowl clash between two of the leagues best teams didn't stop Eagles fans from flooding the streets Sunday night. Hoards of fans on Broad Street in Center City celebrated the Eagles' Super Bowl appearance by shooting off fireworks and, of course, climbing street poles.
"We tried our best we're still celebrating no matter what, we made it - that's all that really matters - we're Philly," a fan on Broad Street said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report