Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty.
Teams haven’t stopped Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Tush Push yet, but they may be getting close—and it could involve breaking a few rules.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are adding more beef to defend against the nearly unstoppable play when they face Philadelphia this week, other teams are looking for a different approach.
When the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Eagles in Week 2, the debate over whether the play should be banned once again took center stage.
That stemmed from a couple of obvious false starts the officials missed, giving Philadelphia an even bigger advantage on the play. But the missed false starts weren’t the only uncalled penalties.
The Chiefs, like other defenses, tried an illegal tactic to confuse the offensive line into moving early. In the NFL rulebook, this tactic is classified as ‘disconcerting signals’ and carries a 15-yard penalty.
Could that coincidentally be why members of the Eagles offensive line have moved early? It’s quite possible.
According to the NFL, the penalty hasn’t been enforced since 2017, so defenses have little reason not to try to make the Eagles jump early—assuming the officials actually call the false start.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler reported that a source believed the Chiefs used ‘disconcerting signals’ while trying to stop the Tush Push, to no avail.
As Jalen Hurts called out his cadence, a Chiefs defender shouted back in a rhythm that mimicked Hurts’ own. That would be against the rules.
The NFL rulebook classifies such behavior as a ‘prohibited act,’ stating: ‘Using acts or words by the defensive team that are designed to disconcert an offensive team at the snap. An official must blow his whistle immediately to stop play.’
A source familiar with the league’s officiating told ESPN that ‘disconcerting signals’ isn’t a focus for NFL referees or teams—and won’t be this season—because the crowd noise makes it nearly impossible for officials to catch it from their positions on the field.
The Chiefs were unsuccessful in stopping the tush pushGetty The Los Angeles Rams didn’t fare any better the following weekGetty“It’s only a foul if the defense intentionally mimics the quarterback cadence to try to draw the offense into a false start,” ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk said. “That’s very hard for officials to know, especially when they are 12-15 yards away from the line.
“Officials generally don’t want to call such a subjective foul based only on what they hear because it’s hard to show on tape, it’s hard to justify it.”
Will defenses keep trying it? Absolutely. Will officials call it? Highly unlikely—considering it hasn’t been flagged in eight years.
However, if you ask Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, the blatant false starts should be easier to officiate and can’t be missed.
“If guys are moving early, then you have to call that,” Reid said. “I felt like the guys were moving, which is why I was griping about it on the sideline there with the officials.”
Calling false starts is much easier than trying to figure out who’s yelling what at the line of scrimmage.
NFL's Greatest......
Ranking the top 10......
Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?
Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?
Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and more
Tight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?
According to TruMedia, since 2022—when the Eagles began running the tush push regularly—Philadelphia has been penalized three times for false starts and three times for offensive offsides on the play.
In other words, the Eagles will keep getting a quarter-second head start as long as they can keep getting away with it.
At the end of the day, the play is nearly impossible to stop—and even harder to officiate. That’s why all signs point to the league and its owners coming together next spring to permanently ban it.
Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.
Hence then, the article about teams are using little known illegal tactic not enforced by refs since 2017 to defend eagles tush push was published today ( ) and is available on talksport ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Teams are using little-known ‘illegal tactic’ not enforced by refs since 2017 to defend Eagles’ Tush Push )
Also on site :
- Rainbow Six Siege Servers Reportedly Breached — Players Urged to Avoid Logging In
- 2026 NBA Mock Draft: Dybantsa Over Peterson? Bulls (Almost) Out of the Lottery!
- Suns’ Mark Williams questionable for 2nd game of back-to-back, Grayson Allen remains out