NFL fans learned what a palpably unfair act is thanks to the Commanders' tush push strategy
The Philadelphia Eagles' "brotherly shove" has been the subject of much discussion over the last few years, spawning talks of potential rule changes to disallow it. On Sunday, the play helped NFL fans learn about a previously obscure rule that already exists.
In trying to jump the snap and stop Philadelphia from shoving Jalen Hurts into the end zone in the NFC Championship, the Washington Commanders were whistled for encroachment on three straight plays. After the first two, both by a diving Frankie Luvu over the center, they were warned that continued penalties of the same kind would be considered a "palpably unfair act," which could result in the Eagles being rewarded a touchdown.
We think he might have jumped early 😂 pic.twitter.com/wK3LGKklBp
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 26, 2025
NFL Rulebook
Rule 12 - Player Conduct
Section 3 - Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Article 4 - Palpably Unfair Act
The referee can award a touchdown if a defense keeps jumping offsides on half the distance penalties, like we just saw with the Eagles Tush Push. pic.twitter.com/MdazYowkat— Stephen Andress (@StephenAndress1) January 26, 2025
Palpably unfair act?
A team being rewarded a touchdown without actually scoring a touchdown?
Yep. Apparently if a team commits repeated penalties to stop a team from scoring, referees can award the other team the yardage they would have reasonably gained, including a touchdown.
These are all new things to those of us who don't know the NFL rulebook front to back, which I'll venture to say is the majority of NFL fans. The rule predictably spawned a bunch of jokes on social media, and "palpably unfair act" will likely remain a part of the NFL fan lexicon until we all forget about it and have to re-learn the rule again 20 years from now.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: NFL fans learned what a palpably unfair act is thanks to the Commanders' tush push strategy
