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 existed.
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 unsportsmanlike conduct.
We think he might have jumped early 😂 pic.twitter.com/wK3LGKklBp
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 26, 2025
That's when things got weird.
After the third straight Commanders penalty, this time by Jonathan Allen, officials advised Washington the Eagles could be rewarded a touchdown if the behavior continued -- without actually scoring a touchdown.
Of course, this blew everyone who was watching away, because wait, can they actually do that? Apparently yes, they can. The internet did its thing and dived into the NFL rulebook, and this all came down to something called a "palpably unfair act."
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
“Washington has been advised, that at some point the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again.”
It’s true. I have the details on the rule, and the hilarious history of it being called. pic.twitter.com/0FAkKSyNdY— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) January 27, 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.
This was an unusual thing to hear for 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. Now we have a new phrase in our sports vocabulary to throw around when the situation fits.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: NFL fans learned what a palpably unfair act is thanks to the Commanders' tush push strategy