C.J. Gardner-Johnson fires back at NFL over blaming players for poor Super Bowl LVII field conditions -“Went through 3 different cleats”

Super Bowl LVII's field conditions were slick and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson had something to say to the league about their response to that. While no official statement was made by the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell has apparently been defensive when asked.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that Goodell has been telling NFL team owners that players from both sides were wearing the wrong cleats. Which essentially puts the blame on the players for the problems at State Farm Stadium.

Gardner-Johnson saw this news on Twitter and retweeted it and added his own take on the situation. The former Philadelphia Eagles safety said that he tried three different pairs of cleats during pre-game warmups and that none of them worked, not even the pair with the studs on the bottom.

"Man pre game I went through 3 different cleats!! Even the studs wasn’t working 😒 explain that please"

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In the months since the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, there have been sentiments that the field conditions caused the outcome. Many say that the lack of traction caused issues for the Eagles' defense.

It is interesting that Roger Goodell has not addressed field conditions in public, but according to Florio, he has been discussing it with NFL team owners privately.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson has additional thoughts about the Super Bowl LVII field

C.J. Gardner-Johnson mentioned that when the Eagles played the Arizona Cardinals earlier in the year, there wasn't an issue with the field. He said that if cleats were at fault in the Super Bowl, regular grass should have been used instead.

"If that’s the case we should’ve played on AZ original grass! we was fine the week we traveled there and won."

Gardner-Johnson is no longer a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He became a free agent after the 2022 NFL season and signed a one-year deal worth $8 million with the Detroit Lions.

The Lions have a decent shot at making the playoffs this season, but the Eagles are favorites for the conference.

About the author

Bethany Cohen is an NFL writer at Sportskeeda, with a rich prior 15-year experience in the sports writing industry, primarily covering the MLB and MiLB. She majored in Communications from the University of South Florida and has previously worked for top companies such as Examiner.com and Legends on Deck.

Bethany owes her NFL allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers owing to their long-standing tradition and competitiveness. She is a fan of old stalwarts such as Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris and would love to watch them in the 1970s if she manages to get her hand on a time machine. She also acknowledges the greatness of modern icons like T.J. Watt for his desire to continuously improve despite being on top. She admires coaches Mike Tomlin and Andy Reid for their longevity and success.

The ace reporter credits her knowledge and love for the sport to be her biggest reporting strengths. Prior fact-checking is a big component of her process and she always scours through additional sources to ensure complete accuracy in her content.

Super Bowl XLIII, when the Steelers won the the grand prize after Santonio Holmes’ epic catch in the end zone with just seconds left on the clock is etched in Bethany’s memory forever. When she is free of her professional commitments, she likes to attend sports events and music concerts.

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Edited by John Maxwell