NFL refs nearly used rare rule to award Eagles a TD: How a palpably unfair act could impact Super Bowl LIX

On Sunday during the NFC Championship game, football fans were stunned to find out the NFL Rulebook allows the league's referees -- who are under plenty of scrutiny at almost all times -- to simply, at their discretion, award a score to a team on the field.

Say whaaaaaa? Yeah, it's true. The officials have an immense amount of leeway in the event a player or even non-player commits a palpably unfair act on the field of play. 

So much so that many people didn't know the rule or what exactly the refs were allowed to do. And I don't just mean fans -- many media members were unaware of the rule, current players watching didn't know and even players in the game, including longtime superstar linebacker Bobby Wagner, were stunned to find out just what the rule allows the officials to do on the field during the game.

"I was trying to inform them they were lined up offsides," Wagner said after the game. "I didn't know they could just award a touchdown."

So what exactly is a palpably unfair act and how did it affect the Commanders-Eagles game and, perhaps more importantly, what could it mean for Super Bowl LIX when we see the Chiefs and Eagles square off in New Orleans? Let's break it down.  

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Cody Benjamin

What is a palpably unfair act? 

Well, it's actually extremely generalized. And yet also pretty straightforward. There's no specific mention of what would qualify as a palpably unfair act in the rulebook but we know that "palpably" means "noticeably or clear" and unfair, well, is pretty simple. It applies to both players on the field and players who are substitutes. The rulebook also accounts for non-players as well later on.

The technical definition, from Rule 12, Section 3, Article 4 of the NFL Rulebook is as follows:

PALPABLY UNFAIR ACT. A player or substitute shall not interfere with play by any act which is palpably unfair. 51 Rule 12 Penalty: For a palpably unfair act: Offender may be disqualified. The Referee, after consulting the officiating crew, enforces any such distance penalty as they consider equitable and irrespective of any other specified code penalty. The Referee may award a score.

Think of it like this: if a player was running into the end zone for a touchdown with no one within 10 yards of him and someone from the sideline sprinted on the field and tackled him, well, that would be *noticeably unfair* and whoever did it would be tossed from the game and the team that was going to score would likely be awarded a score as a result. 

This is specifically covered in by Rule 5, Section 2, Article 4 of the NFL Rulebook as well: 

If a substitute enters the field of play or end zone while the ball is in play, it is an illegal substitution. If an illegal substitute interferes with the play, it may be a palpably unfair act.

Article 13, Rule 7 essentially loops in the same thing but for non-players and allows the officials to "make such ruling as he/she considers equitable." That can mean spotting the ball wherever the official wants or even awarding a score. 

Worth noting: the NFL Rulebook also allows a palpably unfair act ruling to supersede a "half the distance" situation near the goal line. (I.E. if an act that occurs on the 15-yard line is deemed palpably unfair, the ball can me moved at the officials' discretion instead of simply being moved half the distance to the goal line). 

Additionally, a palpably unfair act by the offense can supersede general notion that an offensive foul shall not extend the period. 

From Rule 4, Section 8, Article 2 (b)(3) of the NFL Rulebook: 

If there is a foul by the offense, there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted. However, the period may be extended for an untimed down, upon the request of the defense, if the offensive team's foul or violation is for [...] a palpably unfair act.

This probably only comes into play if you have a situation like the James Harrison interception return for a touchdown (aka The Immaculate Interception) in Super Bowl XLIII at the end of the first half, when the Steelers linebacker housed a Kurt Warner pass to end the half. If someone on the offensive side of the ball commits the unfair act, the defense could request to extend the half and/or a score could be awarded. 

What's an example of a palpably unfair act? 

Obviously the above-referenced hypothetical of someone sprinting on the field to tackle a player in the middle of a play qualifies. But we also have a pretty concrete example of what could happen thanks to the Commanders-Eagles matchup in the NFC Championship game.

In this instance, the Eagles had gotten the ball down to the Commanders' 1-yard line on a Saquon Barkley run. With Jalen Hurts fully healthy (we found out after the game started!) it was time for the "Tush Push" aka "The Brotherly Shove." Hurts went up the middle and got stuffed, but Jonathan Allen was called for defensive offsides, so the play was negated and the ball moved half the distance (roughly half a yard) toward the goal line. 

Hurts again attempted to go up the middle and got stuffed. Then, on second down, Frankie Luvu decided to do his best Troy Polamalu impression. 

But ran into a hard count and all but Jimmy Snuka tackled Hurts. 

It wasn't a terrible idea to try and time the snap: the penalty is, again, like a half a yard, maybe. And the reward would be sacking Hurts before he got moving as a runner and possibly moving the ball back a yard or two for third down. 

So naturally Luvu ran it right back on the ensuing replay of the down. 

"We just keep moving it a couple inches forward," FOX announcer Kevin Burkhardt said with a laugh. 

At this point, official Sean Hochuli announced Washington had been warned that any other attempts by Luvu to go offsides that aggressively (essentially free rolling half the distance for a chance at a big play the other way) would result in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. 

That wouldn't give the Eagles any points, but it would reset the downs and push the ball even farther, plus put Luvu at risk for being kicked out of the game.

So they replayed the down again, with Allen being called for encroachment as he attempted to jump in and beat the snap by stopping Hurts from sneaking forward. The crowd went crazy and fans everywhere groaned as well, because it felt kind of ridiculous. Burkhardt called on FOX rules consultant and former VP of Officiating Mike Pereira who revealed a pretty surprising point of emphasis for many fans. 

"Interestingly enough, you've got a situation here where if these are deliberate, and you heard Sean Hochuli it could lead to an unsportsmanlike conduct call," Pereira said. "It could also lead to awarding a score if it happens multiple times like this."

Not a few seconds later, Hochuli confirmed that was exactly the case. 

"Washington has been advised that at some point the referee can award a score if this type of behavior happens again," Hochuli announced. 

In other words, if it felt like the Commanders were purposely going offsides early to egregiously and, if you will, palpably attempt to stop the play, the official could step in and give the Eagles a touchdown without them actually scoring on the play.

How could this impact the Super Bowl?

Well for starters, we have a rematch of two teams who know each other pretty intimately, which means it wouldn't be shocking to see some high-level game planning for this matchup on both sides. 

The Chiefs did an incredible job defensively of slowing down Josh Allen's attempts to run the "Tush Push" and you could argue Allen and the Bills were the most efficient team at running the play during the 2024 season. 

You better believe the Chiefs will cook up some ideas when it comes to trying to stop the Eagles' attempts at running the "Tush Push" as a result. 

Against Buffalo, Kansas City simply loaded up on the left side of the defensive line, with CBS Sports Jim Nantz noting they heard during meetings what the Chiefs planned to do ... and they executed it perfectly. 

It wouldn't be shocking if the Chiefs tried to time up the snap count at some point to beat the Eagles on the "Tush Push." If that happens, we could absolutely see another situation like we saw in the NFC Championship game. 

So make sure and keep your palpably unfair act antenna in the air when things kick off in just under two weeks.