The little-known NFL rule that allows a touchdown even when one is not scored

The Philadelphia Eagles won their NFC Conference Championship game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday to earn their spot in Super Bowl LIX, where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs on February 9.

The Eagles won in dominant fashion, beating the Commanders 55-23. But before one of their scores, an odd moment occurred that shed light on an NFL rule that could have given the Eagles a touchdown even if they hadn’t scored it.

Here’s what happened and what the NFL rulebook actually says.

The odd NFL rule that awards TDs without the team scoring

Early in the 4th quarter of the game, the Eagles were up 34-23. The Commanders still had a chance to make a comeback for the win. But an Austin Ekeler fumble led to a turnover that put the Eagles in scoring position.

At the goal line, the Eagles lined up in their signature tush push formation. On their first try, the Commanders made the stop, but Washington defensive end Jonathan Allen was called for Offsides. That was followed by three consecutive Encroachment calls on Washington - two on Frankie Luvu and another on Allen.

On the first, Luvu leapt over the line of scrimmage before the snap on 2nd and goal. The ball was moved half the distance to the goal line. On the next play, still at 2nd and goal, Luvu hurdled the o-line into the backfield and the ball was moved half the distance again, but this time, the referee Shawn Hochuli gave a warning.

“Washington has been warned if that foul is intentionally done again, it will be an unsportsmanlike conduct foul,” said Hochuli. “For now, it’s half the distance to the goal, and it’s still second down.”

After Allen drew the third encroachment penalty, Hochuli warned that if it happened again, the Eagles could be awarded a score.

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

That finally seemed to be enough to stop the Commanders from trying it again, as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts carried the ball across the goal line for the touchdown, eliminating the need for the officials to give them the score without the work.

What the NFL rules say about awarding a touchdown

There is, of course, an actual rule in the NFL rulebook which states that awarding a touchdown can indeed be done by the referees in these circumstances. Here’s what it says.

Article 1. Touchdown Plays

A touchdown is scored, and the ball becomes dead when:

1. the ball is on, above, or behind the plane of the opponents’ goal line (extended) and is in possession of a runner who has advanced from the field of play into the end zone

2. a ball in possession of an airborne runner is on, above, or behind the plane of the goal line, and some part of the ball passed over or inside the pylon

3. a ball in player possession touches the pylon, provided that, after contact by an opponent, no part of the player’s body, except his hands or feet, struck the ground before the ball touched the pylon

4. Any player who is legally inbounds secures possession of a loose ball that is on, above, or behind the opponent’s goal line (3-2-4 and 3-2-7.)

5. the Referee awards a touchdown to a team that has been denied one by a palpably unfair act.

Hochuli deemed the Commanders' repeated offside jumps to be “palpably unfair” and seemed ready to give the touchdown to the Eagles if it happened even once more. Currently, that rule has never needed to be enforced in the NFL, but the Commanders came quite close to making history as the first team to put it to use.

In the end, those attempts would not have helped the Commanders anyway, as Philly outscored them by 32 points, their 55 points being the most scored in a Conference Championship game in NFL history, as they notched their ticket to Super Bowl LIX.

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