GLENDALE, Ariz. — Haason Reddick made no excuses about the playing surface in Super Bowl LVII, but it was fair for the Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher to vent his frustration.
Reddick didn’t record a sack in the Super Bowl, but he had seven pressings for an Eagles pass rush that failed to pressure Patrick Mahomes all night. His words speak volumes.
“I won’t lie, it was the worst field I’ve ever played on,” Reddick said after the defeat. “It was very disappointing, it’s the NFL. You’d think it would be better so we could play better, but it is what it is.
“I don’t know, maybe the league will look at that and tell Arizona they need to step up their game. I don’t know, it’s not my choice, it’s not my choice, whatever it is and whatever it is.”
Reddick didn’t stop addressing the playing surface here, either that the disadvantage was the same for the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“There have been a lot of slips in this field,” Reddick said. “It didn’t even matter, I changed my cleats, still had cleats and was still slipping so I don’t know. You know I don’t wanna use it as an excuse I’m not that man I won’t make excuses
“They still won, they are champions, they should enjoy it. We won next year, I still believe in this team and everyone in the squad, we’ll be back.”
Jordan Mailata didn’t blame the defeat on the pitch either, but he wasn’t happy either.
“It was definitely below par, but we have to deal with the situation and the circumstances,” Mailata said. “We can’t control the field but we have to accept the reality of the situation and (inaudible) plays and we failed.
“It’s who can get through the conditions. Rain or wind, it all comes down to who can handle the conditions best.”
The turf used for the Super Bowl — Tahoma 31 — is one of the newer turf types developed in the state of Oklahoma in 2018. The turf was developed with funding from the United States Golf Association (h/t ESPN).
The playing surface may be good for golf, but it wasn’t up to par in the Super Bowl.
“It was like playing in a water park,” Mailata said via Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice.com.
In determining what type of playing surface to use for the Super Bowl, the NFL wanted a field that would withstand a week’s worth of rehearsals for the celebrations surrounding the game. Their decision ultimately had a negative impact on the actual competition.
Playing surfaces were a hot topic in the 2022 season. Back in November, NFLPA President JC Tretter called on the NFL to improve playing surfaces to avoid unnecessary injuries. Among other things, Tretter called for an immediate ban on slit film turf, which is currently used in six stadiums.
Tretter found that games played on slotted foil turf have higher in-game injury rates compared to other playing surfaces. According to Tretter, non-contact injuries as well as foot and ankle injuries are among the injuries that statistically occur more frequently on slotted plastic turf.
“The NFL and its experts have endorsed this data and recognize that the slot film area is less secure,” Tretter wrote in a letter to the league. “The Players’ Leadership wrote a letter to the NFL this week calling for the immediate removal of these fields and a ban on them in the future, both in stadiums and on practice fields.”
The NFL has to deal with field conditions later in the biggest game of the year, especially when several players were visibly upset about avoiding potential injuries on the game’s biggest stage.
“Not only has the NFL refused to mandate this change immediately, but it has also refused to commit to mandating any change away from slot film at all in the future.”
Unfortunately, Sunday night’s pitch was once again an action as professional football’s most important game was marred by sub-par conditions.