The Philadelphia Eagles’ tush push, or Brotherly Shove if you are so inclined, has become one of the more difficult plays in football to stop.
Commanders committed same penalty repeatedly until ref threatened to award Eagles a TD
The Commanders repeatedly dove offsides to stop Tush Push, and it was pure madness
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
However, the Washington Commanders threw everything they could at the Eagles in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game in one of the more bizarre sequences you will ever see.
With the Eagles holding a 34-23 lead in the fourth quarter against the Commanders, Philadelphia picked up a 22-yard run from Saquon Barkley that got the Eagles down to the Washington one-yard line.
Facing 1st and goal, Kellen Moore called for the Brotherly Shove. While Washington stopped the play for no gain, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was flagged for encroachment, and the football was moved inches closer to the end zone.
On the second 1st-and-goal situation from the Washington one-yard line, Hurts was again stopped for no gain.
That is when things truly turned bizarre.
On second down, Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu tried to time the snap, hurling himself over the offensive line and into the Philadelphia quarterback. However, the Eagles were using a long count, and Luvu was flagged for encroachment:
The football was moved a few inches closer to the end zone, and the Eagles faced another 2nd and goal from inside the one-yard line. Again there was a flag for encroachment, as Luvu once more tried to time the snap but failed:
After this second high-flying encroachment from Luvu, Mike Pereria in the booth on FOX Sports surmised that under the rulebook, the officials could award a score to the Eagles for continued penalties.
So when Allen was flagged again for encroachment, for the third time in a row for the Commanders, that warning came:
For those wondering, that portion of the rule book falls under Section 2, Article 1, Subpart 5: “A touchdown is scored when ... the Referee awards a touchdown to a team that has been denied one by a palpably unfair act.”
Finally, after all that, Hurts reached the end zone:
The NFL actually pulled together the entire sequence, which is ALMOST FOUR MINUTES LONG. Yes, a nearly four-minute highlight video of encroachment penalties. Football is wonderful:
Also, seeing that entire sequence in play-by-play form is equally special:
What a sport.
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