NFL owners did not vote to ban the tush push this offseason, but that does not mean they wanted the Philadelphia Eagles to be able to run the play illegally.
The Eagles got away with a blatant false start when Jalen Hurts scored a touchdown on the tush push in Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. The play came on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter.
Hurts scored to give the Eagles a 19-10 lead, but the touchdown should have been called back. Replays clearly showed that several Philadelphia players moved before the ball was snapped.
FOX analyst Tom Brady spoke about the false start and said the officiating crew “missed that one pretty bad.”
The Eagles commit about 5 penalties during a Tush Push, and the NFL just doesn’t call them.
— Chris Bryant (@HogfarmerChris) September 14, 2025
Center is offsides, guards false start.
Ban the play. pic.twitter.com/ffukdCEj7Q
You can see another angle:
Literally how is this allowed?? pic.twitter.com/RqiDcmoRrH
— AJ Clark (@AJClark23) September 14, 2025
Like Brady said, the tush push is hard enough for defenses to stop without the Eagles being able to get a head start. Officials are going to have to watch that aspect of the play a lot more closely going forward.
The Eagles kicked the extra point to take a 20-10 lead and ended up winning 20-17. The no-call on the tush push was huge, as Philly should have had 4th-and-goal from the 6-yard line after the penalty. They likely would have kicked a field goal had the penalty been called, but instead they took a two-score lead and essentially put the game out of reach.
