The Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles are facing off in a highly-anticipated early season matchup. Both teams seek a 3-0 start in a rematch of last season’s incredible Divisional Round snow game. L.A. is 2-0 thanks in large part to their defense stifling a pair of AFC South opponents in the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans.
The Eagles are 2-0 after defeating a division rival in the Dallas Cowboys and winning a Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs. The latter game, though, was marred with some controversy surrounding Philly’s famous Tush Push.
Jalen Hurts and company were successful on multiple attempts at the Tush Push, including one late in the fourth quarter that helped to ice the game for the Eagles. But it was clear both in the moment and upon review that multiple Eagles offensive linemen committed penalties on the play.
Because of the near ban on the Tush Push in the offseason, and the poor officiating on the play in Week 2, the NFL has told officials to put a specific focus on alignment and false starts if anyone runs the play in Week 3, according to Tim McManus of ESPN:
The NFL said the Philadelphia Eagles should have been flagged for at least one false start when they used the tush push against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and instructed officials this week to call the controversial play “tight” going forward.
The message from the league, which was first reported by The Washington Post and later confirmed by ESPN, came in its training tape to officials, which was distributed to all 32 teams Wednesday.
The NFL showed the Eagles running the QB sneak on third-and-short late in the fourth quarter for a first down in an eventual 20-17 win in Kansas City.
“Anytime we have this situation we’re in short yardage, we know we want to make sure that we officiate these plays — the offensive team has to be perfect in every aspect,” NFL vice president of officiating training and development Ramon George said, according to the Post. “We want to officiate it tight. We want to be black and white and be as tight as we can be when we get into this situation where teams are in the bunch position and we have to officiate them being onsides, movement early.
“Prior to the snap, looks like we have movement by the right guard. We also have movement coming across from the defensive side. This is a very hard play to officiate. I get it.”
The Rams and head coach Sean McVay were among the teams in favor of banning the Tush Push during the offseason. The measure narrowly failed, allowing the Eagles to continue running the play. However, the conversation has shifted more towards Philadelphia being forced to run the play legally after their win against the Chiefs.
Perhaps just the warning will be enough to keep the Eagles from using the play in Week 3 against the Rams. Or perhaps they’ll run it legally. The big-time rematch kicks off at 10:00 a.m. PT on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Rams’ Sean McVay warning NFL about Tush Push
The Rams may have picked up two victories to start the 2025 season, but they face their toughest challenge yet as they head on the road to take on the Eagles in Week 3.
What makes Philadelphia so difficult to defend is their physicality up front coupled with the running games of Hurts and Saquon Barkley. However, the Eagles also have popularized the Tush Push, which has caused a commotion among the other teams.
In Week 2 against the Chiefs, it appeared as though officials missed multiple false state penalties against the Eagles on the Tush Push, which sparked another conversation. Sean McVay weighed in on the issue and acknowledged he and the team will have conversations with the league office ahead of the Week 3 matchup.
