The Philadelphia Eagles have been breaking the hearts of NFL fans with their tough push for quite some time now. Once labeled as unstoppable or unfair, the narrative has now shifted to the Eagles somehow cheating by utilizing the play so often in short-yardage situations.
Specifically, Philly has come under fire for having their guards line up in the neutral zone and going early. Many feel like the tush push should have been called a false start or an offside penalty on multiple occasions before it was even snapped.
But the league has tightened up a bit this season. Despite the discourse surrounding the play still being overwhelmingly negative everywhere other than Philadelphia, the Eagles have gotten the short end of the stick with several questionable calls that went against them.
Eagles wrongly get whistled for false start on tush push attempt
In the midst of yet another stale primetime game on Sunday Night Football against the Detroit Lions, the Eagles attempted a tush push on their first drive of the third quarter. Right guard Tyler Steen was called for a false start on the play, which pushed Philly back five yards.
This call seemed questionable live, and when captured on the replay, it is just downright ridiculous. The Lions' defensive tackle was clearly lined up in the neutral zone, and Steen had nowhere to comfortably put his hands on the play, yet the Eagles were whistled for an infraction.
The #Eagles were called for a false start on a tush-push attempt....
And of course.... there wasn't a false start.
That should've been on the defense. pic.twitter.com/zakxTIRvxC
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 17, 2025
Then, the Detroit defender dives on the ball before it is snapped, further adding to the mystery of how Philly was ever flagged on this play. Even some of the Lions' other defenders are clearly frustrated in the background about their teammates decision, but Detroit got bailed out.
In a close game like the one transpiring on Sunday, every play and yard matters. The Eagles' success rate on the tush push is such that it is not an overreaction to think that Philly got screwed out of a first down and potential points in a game where such things are scarce.
Hopefully, this video is seen by the greater fans of the NFL, as the conversation seriously needs to be adjusted when it comes to the tush push. Yes, the Eagles may have gotten away with some minor infractions over the years, but such is the nature of the NFL. Not everything gets called.
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But this was just an egregious call in a big game in front of a national audience that just can't be ignored. If Philadelphia pulls off the win still, it will lessen the sting. If not, it will beg further questions about how, and why, this call was ever made.