PHILADELPHIA -- A weird sequence took place along the path to a Washington Commanders ' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
In the midst of the game, with the Eagles on the goal line in their 'tush push' formation, the Commanders tried to stop the play by anticipating the snap count. It's not a totally unheard-of way of playing defense.
Apparently, however, the officials working the game felt Washington was intentionally trying to prevent a score–which sounds like playing defense to us–and felt the need to threaten the team with an unusual punishment if it continued.
"Simply put, a team can't commit multiple fouls in an effort to prevent the score," referee Shawn Hochuli told Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) pool reporter Zach Berman after the game. "So, [Commanders LB Frankie Luvu] jumped the ball a couple of times. That was when the warning came in. Again, if it's meant to prevent a score, we can essentially award the score."
Hochuli didn't threaten to essentially award the score. However, he flat-out said if the Commanders drew another flag trying to stop Philadelphia from scoring, he'd give it the points it was trying to get in the first place.
According to the NFL rulebook, in order for Hochuli to deliver on his threat he'd have to determine that Washington denied the Eagles a touchdown through a, "palpably unfair act."
Palpably, meaning noticeably or clearly is a bit of a stretch here. Did Luvu know his act could be mistimed and lead to a penalty? Sure. But was he doing it in some unfair manner to delay what most assumed was an inevitable 'push tush' touchdown? The linebacker told reporters at the end of the game that was not his intention.
Clearly, Hochuli thought otherwise and didn't seem particularly amused by Luvu's behavior during the series.
Thankfully, no further penalties were called on Luvu, and Philadelphia got the touchdown because the linebacker was so unjustly holding it back. Just one more injustice solved by the crack efficiency that is NFL officiating.
Oh, and as to any comment on whether or not the Eagles using a hard count came into consideration, Hochuli said, "There's a play clock that prevents them from doing that too many times. With the defense, since we deem it as an effort to prevent the score - a repeated act - that's where the potential for awarding the score comes in."
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