‘Palpably unfair act’ NFL rule explained after wild Commanders vs. Eagles NFC Championship moment

The NFC Championship game between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles nearly saw the Palpably Unfair Act come into play. Jeff Darlington of ESPN shared the rule on social media after referee Shawn Hochuli revealed that the Eagles could be awarded a touchdown if the Commanders continued to jump offsides at their 2-yard line.

The Palpably Unfair Act is, “A player or substitute shall not interfere with play by any act which is palpably unfair.” The penalty for the Palpably Unfair Act is, “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.”

I’d never heard of a rule that allowed referees to award a team a score as was suggested by the official in the Commanders-Eagles game, but sure enough, here it is. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 4. pic.twitter.com/wmDHe5s2d2

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) January 26, 2025

We’ll have more on this story shortly.

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