In Super Bowl LVIII, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III made a critical mistake when he failed to cleanly field a punt with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
However, upon closer examination, it was revealed that McCloud had acted wisely by attempting to scoop up the ball as he had noticed it bouncing off his teammate Darrell Luter’s leg. It was a turning point, eventually leading to a Kansas City touchdown on the ensuing play.
McCloud made a mistake.
But so did Jason Kelce in discussing the play on his New Heights podcast with his brother, Travis.
Here’s what was said initially:
“After the Chiefs three-and-out, we probably have the play that, I mean, really, turned the whole game, which was the muffed punt,” Jason said. “Which, I still don’t really know…Yeah, I’m gonna watch this again. Did he think somebody else touched it?”
They did.
“No, I think he felt the ball going past him, and he didn’t want to get pinned or get the team pinned,” said Travis, who likely hasn’t watched the film of McCloud just yet.
“I mean, listen, I don’t want to ever get on a guy,” added Jason. “I just — that was a big play in the game…We just talked about this — what you guys talked about the night before — and I’m sure the 49ers said the same thing. Like, don’t let the moment make you change what you’ve been doing all year long, right? Even though it’s the Super Bowl, you can’t overdo it. And I think, to be honest, this is a guy that’s trying to go above and beyond to help his team.
“He knows if that ball keeps going, it’s hurting the offense. But the reality is, that’s a hard ball to field when it’s bouncing like that. Listen, I get it; I really do get it. But it ended up being a huge play for the Chiefs with Jaylen Watson being able to fall on it at the 16-yard line.”
A few hours after the uploaded podcast, Kelce admitted he did not get it.
“In the episode today, we screwed up the punt return from the game that was muffed,” Jason wrote on his Twitter/X account. “Apologize for getting this wrong. [I] couldn’t tell from the angle listed that it did, in fact, hit his teammate’s foot. I should have done more research before commenting. I apologize for the error.”
In the episode today, we screwed up the punt return from the game that was muffed. Apologize for getting this wrong, couldn’t tell from the angle listed that it did in fact hit his teammates foot. I should have done more research before commenting. I apologize for the error
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) February 14, 2024
Credit where credit is due; not only did Jason take accountability for his mistake, but he owned it. Not every athlete, let alone podcaster, is willing to admit their mistakes publicly, but Jason did so with his characteristic leadership and transparency. His honesty and humility are even more refreshing in a world that often rewards deflection and excuse-making.
[New Heights, Jason Kelce on Twitter/X]
