The tush push, which the Philadelphia Eagles refined and Kansas City deciphered, might provide some of the most dramatic moments in the Super Bowl in New Orleans in two weeks, if the conference titles are any guide.
In the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s 55-23 thumping of Washington on Sunday, the Commanders committed four penalties with Jalen Hurts and company at or inside the 1-yard line, demonstrating how good the Eagles (17-3) are at their renowned short-yardage plays.
Early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City stuffed Bills quarterback Josh Allen, turning the 32-29 victory against Buffalo that put Kansas City (17-2) to its third straight Super Bowl. Or did it? a point down and inches at midway on fourth.
The call on the field was no gain and a turnover on downs, and replay confirmed this, even though it first seemed to millions of viewers and at least one official that Allen got the nose of the football across the line.
Referee Shawn Hochuli in Philadelphia used a little-known clause in the NFL’s rule book about unsportsmanlike behavior to warn the Commanders to halt their antics or he would give the Eagles a score.
In a last-ditch effort to keep the Eagles out of the end zone, linebacker Frankie Luvu mistimed his jump over both lines for encroachment penalties on consecutive plays while sandwiched behind Jonathan Allen, who was lining up in the neutral zone and got tagged for encroachment.
After Hurts put the ball within an inch of the goal line, the Commanders legitimately stopped him with four flags in a five-play sequence. Hurts then crashed into the end zone to give Philadelphia a three-score advantage.
Washington was cautioned by Hochuli that he would consider Luvu’s second unlawful leap to be unsportsmanlike behavior. Hochuli, like a reprimanding dad, said that referees can indeed award a team a touchdown for repeated penalties after Allen jumped offside once more on an Eagles hard count.
Hochuli stated during his in-game statement that Washington has been informed that if this kind of behavior occurs again, the referee may eventually issue a touchdown.
After the game, Hochuli told a pool reporter, “A team simply cannot commit multiple fouls in an attempt to prevent the score.” The warning was issued after No. 4 (Luvu) jumped the ball a few times. Once more, we can effectively award the score if it is intended to prevent one.
The league’s rule book’s Rule 12, Section 3, Article 2 has it. The phrase “Fouls To Prevent Score” prohibits the defense from committing consecutive or repeated fouls in an attempt to stop a score. Additionally, the regulation states that the offensive team will receive the score if the infraction is committed again after a warning.
Finally, Hurts scored, the Commanders stayed onside, and the flags remained in the referees’ pockets, giving Philadelphia a 41-23 advantage.
Buffalo came back to take a 22–21 lead and faced a fourth and 1 at the Kansas City 41 early in the fourth quarter, where the Bills were eliminated by K.C. for the fourth time in five years.
Although it looked like one official marked the ball past the line to gain before another placed it short, Allen was stopped on a sneak. Since there was insufficient evidence to reverse the decision, the replay review upheld it.
All I can tell is that, according to Bills coach Sean McDermott, it seemed like he got to it.
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“I felt like he gained it by about a third of the football,” CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore concurred during the broadcast.
Kansas City, however, grabbed control and drove for the game-winning touchdown.
In the first half, K.C. also benefited from a contentious decision in which Xavier Worthy was given credit for a catch even though it looked like the ball had struck the ground when he wrestled it away from Bills safety Cole Bishop for a 26-yard gain to the Buffalo 3. The play was upheld despite the Bills’ challenge, and Mahomes rushed in for a score to give the team a 21-10 lead.
These two calls, which occurred one week after Kansas City defeated Houston 23–14 thanks to two roughing-the-passer penalties, strengthened the commonly held belief among non-K.C. supporters that referees prefer the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
But on Sunday, a flag on Kansas City really backfired on the Bills.
When Kansas City safety Justin Reid was flagged for being offside on the kick, McDermott was deprived of an extra point. The Bills attempted to run it in with the ball at the one, but their 2-point attempt was unsuccessful.
As a result, the Bills were behind 21-16 at the half and had to chase that deficit for the remainder of the game. Allen was sacked on a second 2-point attempt after Buffalo’s first drive of the second half put them ahead 22–21.
— AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton
