Ray-Ray McCloud claps back at criticism of ‘muffed punt’ in Super Bowl LVIII
A lot of debate will be had about what exactly cost the San Francisco 49ers a victory in Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas CIty Chiefs, and there will be a large majority of people blaming the muffed punt that occurred late in the third quarter.
For those who have blocked the memory out of your minds (no one would blame you), the Chiefs went 3-and-out and punted the ball back to the Niners. The football grazed the back of rookie cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.'s foot, and rather than jumping on the ball, return specialist Ray-Ray McCloud opted to try and pick it up and run with it.
As we saw, this was a huge mistake.
Special teams takeaway for Kansas City!
— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
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In trying to pick the ball up and run with it, McCloud couldn't come through, and gunner Jaylen Watson of the Chiefs was able to land on the ball. This gave KC an instant red-zone possession, and one play later, they had their first lead of Super Bowl LVIII.
The day after the game, someone on Twitter/X said that "Brock Purdy is a Super Bowl champion right now if this punt isn't muffed," and McCloud didn't take kindly to that. McCloud saw the tweet and quote responded to it noting that if people "don't know football" then they should keep quiet.
He did have a point in saying that this wasn't necessarily a muffed punt, though. The ball hit someone before McCloud even had a chance at it.
A muffed punt is when the returner doesn't cleanly catch the ball.
If you don’t know football don’t speak about the play! Cuz that’s not a muff goofy boy! https://t.co/Dg7VGrCIay
— RayRay McCloud III (@RMIII_34) February 12, 2024
Ray-Ray McCloud isn't thrilled with people coming after him
There are plenty of reasons why the Niners lost this game, and while this moment was one reason they ultimately lost, it wasn't the only reason. It was certainly an instance of bad luck, and that's what's so frustrating about it to Niners fans.
People might be angry at McCloud for trying to pick up the ball rather than just falling on it, but CBS color analyst Tony Romo even said on the broadcast that he did the right thing in that situation.
Still, the Chiefs gained momentum from this fumble, so it was clearly a key turning point in the loss.
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