One week after the Philadelphia Eagles ran the tush push four plays in a row to score a touchdown against the New York Giants on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 6, officials penalized the Pittsburgh Steelers for a false start when using the controversial play in the second quarter of their contest versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones called out the Eagles for allegedly committing a false start when they used the tush push in Week 2.
“We think he jumped multiple times,” Jones said. “The official didn’t see it, so it wasn’t called. We just got to go play the next down.”
However, Philadelphia has continued to use the play to success despite the league telling teams they would call the tush push “tight” moving forward.
The Steelers attempted to run the play on 4th-and-1 from the Cincinnati 18-yard line. However, officials flagged offensive guard Mason McCormick for a false start, prompting Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin to settle for a field goal to take a 10-0 lead.
NFL fans on social media reacted to the officials calling the penalty on the Steelers. Many fans were upset that the league decided to penalize a team other than the Eagles for a false start on the tush push.
“But they won’t call it on the eagles you have to be joking,” wrote a fan.
“Let it be the eagles though and it doesn’t get called,” suggested a poster.
“Of course the Steelers get called for a false start on a tush push but literally never the eagles,” posted another.
“Amazing they can see it here, but not the 176 times Philly has false started on it,” wrote a fan.
“Eagles false start on tush push = okay Anybody else = penalty,” posted another.
It’ll be interesting to see how the officials call the play moving forward. The league has made officiating the play a point of emphasis, and it might be called even more tightly after the Eagles ran it four plays in a row against the Giants.
The Eagles will more than likely attempt the tush push when they play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
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